A MUSICIAN YOU SHOULD KNOW No. 1 (MATT DUSK)

Where have all the crooners gone? Hemingway's Lounge certainly has one for ya.


Forget Michael Buble. Really, forget him. He's pretty good. He knows it and there's nothing more annoying that that.

As Patrizio Buanne? Forget him, too. Silky-sweet voice. But maybe too silky. Plus he's too pretty. Sinatra wasn't pretty. He was cool. Big difference - but that's another post.

So any saloon singer worth his salt should be able to belt it out confidently; have a command of the stage; and, most important, have a tinge of bourbon on his voice to make it all sound believable. That's key.

The voice needs to be gruff. Not Tom Waits gruff, but strong. And with extreme vocal charisma.

So, if you agree that's the true definition of an old-school crooner, then I give you Matt Dusk -- the best New School standards singer you've never heard of. New School because he goes out of his way to also sing original material and truthfully, that's the stuff that's worth it for me.

As for his kisser? OK, he may look like he's fresh off "Laguna Beach" but the kid (and he is a kid), has that definitive been-around-the-block thing in his voice.

Sinatra had it. You know what I mean.

Listen to him in the below link. You'll agree. The tune is "Two Shots of Happy," a tune written for Frank Sinatra, by Bono. Great lyrics. The Chairman never had the chance to record the song, sadly. But Christ, imagine if he did.

"...You drove me to drink ... But, hey that ain't so bad ...Two shots of happy, One shot of sad."

By the way, this is the remix version of "Two Shots." It was used as the theme to the reality show "The Casino" on Fox. I like it because I can almost hear Sinatra singing it in the early 90s with all the loungy, dance orchestration. While the original, slower one, is cooler, this one is pure kitsch.

HEAR "TWO SHOTS OF HAPPY"

Born in 1978, Dusk says he always wanted to become a performer. At seven, he was accepted into the St. Michael's Choir School, where he remained for 11 years. Originally, the singer was training for opera and classical music but after hearing a couple Tony Bennett and Sarah Vaughan records at 17, he swayed in the direction of The Great American Songbook.

Around 1998, he delved into the theory of the music; he studied jazz theory with John Gittins, jazz vocal with Bob Fenton, and attended a masterclass with Oscar Peterson. In March 2003 he signed a major record deal with Decca Records. In 2004 Dusk was invited to the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas to perform as in-house entertainer throughout the filming of the hit reality TV show on FOX, "The Casino."

His debut album "Two Shots" was released in 2004. The album produced the hit single, "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad" which was written by Bono. Last January, Dusk travelled to Los Angeles to record his next album "Back In Town" at Capitol Records' fabled Studio A. He recorded with a 58-piece orchestra as the disc features a mix of jazz standards and originals.

BTW, Dusk boasts the disc was recorded "warm," using original old-school technology to get that wax feel. It was released this spring.

Until next time,

-- Jack Entratter

Check out some cool videos of Dusk. They really are worth checking out. The last two are two very good interviews he did on-site at the Las Vegas Hilton when he released his latest disc:

The video for "Two Shots of Happy"



IN CONCERT: As Time Goes By



IN CONCERT: Fly Me to the Moon

MUSIC VIDEO: Back in Town

IN CONCERT: Learnin' the Blues



INTERVIEW AT VEGAS HILTON: Part One



INTERVIEW AT VEGAS HILTON: Part Two