Interview: Brian De Lorenzo Debuts New Album TOAST OF THE TOWN Volume 1
The album releases on CD and streaming and digital platforms this Friday, June 13
By: Rebecca Kaplan Jun. 11, 2025
Cabaret Classics will release Toast of the Town, Volume 1, the new big band album from Boston-based vocalist Brian De Lorenzo, on CD and streaming and digital platforms this Friday, June 13. Featuring the Tom LaMark Orchestra, this swinging collection features both time-tested standards and hidden gems. The album – produced by Doug Hammer for Dreamworld Productions, with music direction and arrangements by Tom LaMark – features exclusive cover art by lauded Vanity Fair illustrator Robert Risko.
Toast of the Town, Volume 1 features beloved big band favorites associated with the greatest singers of mid-century standards, including Frank Sinatra; Sammy Davis, Jr.; Tony Bennett; Rosemary Clooney; Ella Fitzgerald; Judy Garland; and Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé. Select highlights include golden-age classics by legendary songwriters like Cy Coleman (“The Best Is Yet to Come”), Jerome Kern (“All the Things You Are”), Cole Porter (“I Love Paris”), and Harold Arlen (“Gotta Have Me Go with You”), and more.
With Brian De Lorenzo’s spirited singing and Tom LaMark’s brisk music direction, Toast of the Town, Volume 1 is more than just a time capsule of the past, but a deft and creative exploration of how our collective songbook has evolved.
Read a conversation with De Lorenzo about the album below.
How would you describe this album in a nutshell to anyone unfamiliar with your work?
Toast of the Town Vol. 1 is a selection of some of my favorite American Songbook numbers – some of which I’ve been singing for years and others, I’ve only just started performing. There are 12 instrumentalists playing 16 instruments. Most of the numbers have that exciting “big band” sound, while a few are more intimate, accompanied by a trio or quartet.
What was it like working with a big band on this album?
While I’ve performed on stage with big bands and orchestras such as The Little Apple Big Band and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, this was my first time in a recording studio with so many instrumentalists. It was a bit daunting at first! The music director/pianist, drummer, bass player, and I were all isolated in individual booths, while the rest of the guys were all in the big room in the center. I could just see my MD Tom LaMark across the crowded room through the acrylic windows. But hearing all that brass together for the first time was really exciting!
What is one of your favorite “hidden gem” tracks on the album?
That’s a tough one! There are three tracks that aren’t nearly as well known as the others, and I really enjoy performing them. Let’s go with “All About Love” for a few reasons: one, it has very clever lyrics; two, it’s fun to sing, and three: one of the two co-writers is far more famous as a comic character he created for the Ed Sullivan Show—"José Jimenez.” His name is Bill Dana, and he was born in Quincy, Mass., which is also where I was born (though I was raised nearby in South Weymouth, Mass.).
This is Toast of the Town, Vol. 1. Do you already have a volume 2 in the works? What are you picturing for the tone and style of this series?
All of the songs for Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 were, in fact recorded in the same sessions. Once I decided which tracks would be on each volume, we then mixed the tracks for the first album. The plan is to mix the tracks for the second album later this year and to release that in 2026. It’ll have a feel that’s similar to Vol. 1 with mostly a big band sound and a few more intimate interpretations. Most of the songs on Vol. 2 will be pretty well known to most people, though I do some song pairings that I think will be a fun surprise.
You’re celebrating the release of this album with a live show in Boston. What are you looking forward to about that?
I always look forward to the reciprocal sharing with the audience when I perform, but this concert will be extra special because I’ll get to share these great arrangements with people as I share the stage with some of the best instrumentalists in Boston.
What’s coming up next for you after this?
As part of CabaretFest Provincetown in 2024 I created a show called “Sammy & Sinatra at the Sands” which looks at the music and relationship of two icons of 20th century entertainment, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Frank Sinatra. The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas was their main venue. I’ll be reprising the show at the Arctic Playhouse near Providence on September 29.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I enjoy singing the verses to standards so there are a few of them on this recording, but one of the songs has a verse that I’ve never heard anyone else sing and I also haven’t been able to find any recordings of the verse anywhere. So it’s possible that I’m the first person to record the verse to “Too Close for Comfort.” Also, my music director and arranger, Tom LaMark, will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from CabaretFest Provincetown in June.
To order Toast of the Town, Volume 1, please visit BrianDeLorenzo.com
De Lorenzo will celebrate the recording with a special concert on Tuesday, June 17 at 7:30 pm at Club Café’s Moonshine Room in Boston, MA. Tickets are available here.
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