Latest release: "Songbook Standards, Swing and Jazz!"
Many jazz compositions and swing tunes have been canonized as Great American Songbook "standards."
This album includes some examples.
For more information, click on the link noted on the homepage of this website.
Copyright - Tony Ziesat
REVIEW: "In the mood for some sweet and hot music that only gets better with time? Tony Ziesat sings from the soul on his new album, "Songbook Standards, Swing And Jazzl" From sizzlers like "Straighten Up And Fly Right" to smooth melodies such as 'In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning,' Tony Z, with Stef Scaggiari at the piano, brings out the best in eight songs that thrill forever." - Toby Devens, award-winning author
2021 album: "Standing Ovations!"
A collection of special songs that have struck a resonant chord in audiences:
"I Get A Kick Out Of You"
"The Shadow Of Your Smile"
"You Make Me Feel So Young"
"All The Way"
"Never On Sunday" / "Ta Paidia Tou Peiraia"
"O Sole Mio"
"When You Wish Upon A Star"
"Come Fly With Me"
"Over The Rainbow"
To purchase as an MP3 download, go to Amazon Music.
Copyright - Tony Ziesat
REVIEW by Bob Jacobson of the Baltimore Jazz Alliance:
"Vocalist Tony Ziesat explains that his latest album, with pianist Stef Scaggiari, is titled 'Standing Ovations!' because its nine songs 'have struck a resonant chord in audiences during my live performances over the years.' Many of these performances took place at Germano's, a Little Italy restaurant that often featured jazz and, like so many others, did not survive the Covid pandemic.
Three of the album's songs - 'You Make Me Feel So Young,' 'All The Way,' and 'Come Fly With Me' - are closely identified with Frank Sinatra. Ziesat's style bears some resemblance to that of Old Blue Eyes - his spot-on articulation of melody and lyrics, precise sense of time, spirited sense of swing, and his great delivery. But Ziesat's vocal quality and style come closer to that of Broadway singers than to Sinatra or jazz vocalists.
One of the most pleasurable aspects of this album is that Ziesat includes the verses to two classics from the Great American Songbook - Cole Porter's 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' and Harold Arlen and 'Yip' Harburg's 'Over The Rainbow.' Verses were the segments that introduced many songs in Broadway musicals, films, and some pop songs but were often deleted on records and later performances. They were frequently gems which equaled or even surpassed the melodies we know and love. Ziesat also includes the verse to 'The Shadow Of Your Smile,' the theme from the 1965 film 'The Sandpiper.'
Demonstrating his linguistic skills, Ziesat sings three songs at least partly in languages other than English: 'O Sole Mio' in Italian, 'The Shadow Of Your Smile' in Spanish, and 'Never On Sunday' in Greek.
The only song I have not mentioned is 'When You Wish Upon A Star,' the 1940 Academy Award winner from the Disney animated film "Pinocchio.' Ziesat's marvelous performance makes me wonder why we have not heard this song from more artists over the years.
Whether singing swing, ballads or bossa nova, Ziesat really knows how to get a song across. I can easily understand how these nine songs were audience favorites. Not only vocalists, but horn players too, could benefit from paying close attention to his presentation. Stef Scaggiari, an excellent jazz pianist, excels in the role of accompanist, and my only disappointment with "Standing Ovations!' is that he isn't given a larger role on the album.
Search for Tony Ziesat and 'Standing Ovations!' for purchasing either the CD or mp3 downloads." - Bob Jacobson, Baltimore Jazz Alliance quarterly publication, Summer 2022.
2019 Album: "The Roller Coaster Of Love"
Many compositions in the Great American Songbook, musical theater, and jazz standards describe the wild ride of romance. Metaphors in the lyrics include love as a magical trance or an addictive intoxicant, characterized by extreme, opposing, alternating feelings, such as elation vs. despondency, hot vs. cold, clarity vs. bewilderment, high vs. low, and sunshine vs. stormy weather. The songs on this album are emblematic of that heady body of music.
Vocalist Tony Ziesat takes the listener for a musical ride on the roller coaster of love... Fasten your seatbelt!
Tony is accompanied by pianist Stef Scaggiari on all of the songs, with the exceptions of "Where Or When" which features guitarist Jimmy Kachulis and "Since I Fell For You" with Jimmy Kachulis on piano.
To purchase as an MP3 download, go to:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B082JNQFGP
Copyright - Tony Ziesat
REVIEW (Baltimore Jazz Alliance publication):
"Tony Ziesat's latest collection, 'The Roller Coaster Of Love,' is indeed a musical love letter to romance, a charming journey through love in its many guises, as realized by the masters of the Great American Songbook... The selections allow the listener to truly experience love's varying, complex emotions and are ideally suited to Ziesat's vocal stylings, which are simultaneously powerful and seemingly effortless. Ranging from the wistfulness of Rodgers and Hart's 'Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered' and the unabashed romanticism of Hoagy Carmichael's 'The Nearness Of You' to the exuberance of Lerner and Loewe's 'Almost Like Being In Love' (which indeed made this reviewer 'all aglow and alive') and the joy of Cole Porter's 'I've Got You Under My Skin,' Ziesat's set can be enjoyed alone or with someone special. And, as a vocalist myself, I find the temptation to sing along irresistible. In addition to his command of the canon of standards, Ziesat specializes in international love songs, as demonstrated in 'Arrivederci, Roma,' performed in both English and Italian. Ziesat's album notes encourage you to 'Fasten your seatbelt!' Perhaps, but I think you'll find 'The Roller Coaster Of Love' a delightfully smooth vocal ride." - Theodore G. Zavales, Baltimore Jazz Alliance quarterly publication, Spring 2020 Edition.
To listen to brief excerpts from all of the songs on the album, go to: