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Greg Caldarone, Singer and NJ nativeSince releasing his first CD in 1996, Greg Caldarone’s national profile has been on the rise. In 1998 jazz legend Dakota Staton handpicked Greg Caldarone to receive “The Dakota,” an award bestowed by The Universal Jazz Coalition, which recognizes outstanding jazz performers. Greg is looking forward to debuting at the University of Illinois' Bone Student Center this April as part of a great series of concerts lined up for the center. As a concert artist, Greg has entertained audiences in the tri-state area at such places as The Elmsford Westchester Dinner Theatre, The Continental Airlines Arena, and Trump’s World Fair Casino and other large venues as well as getting to various venues of Las Vegas, Florida and Provincetown, Mass . He has performed alongside show business greats Les Paul, Dakota Staton, Kaye Ballard, and Pat Cooper among others. In addition, his frequent appearances for corporate and charitable clients, such as Filippo Berio, Lipton, The American Cancer Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The American Red Cross and various aids organizations, keep his schedule full. Greg is equally popular on the more intimate cabaret scene in New York City, performing in venues such as Tavern on the Green, The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama and Danny’s Skylight room. On radio he was a regular on The Jim Lowe and Friends program heard every Sat. morning on WVNJ radio, based in NJ but spreading out to New York city and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. CD recordings Come Back To Sorrento (great italian favorites also featuring the guitar stylings of Bucky and John Pizzarelli and mandolin of Lou Pallo), The Nearness of You (fine American standards) and his current release, SHOULD’VE NEVER LET YOU GO, (featuring Greg's own original song "FOR EVERYTHING YOU ARE" written especially for his Mom) are spreading to play lists nationwide. He also has a Christmas CD Have a Blessed Christmas featuring "JOSEPH'S SONG" which he is well known for. Among this busy schedule he served as cantor for The Church of the Nativity in Midland Park, NJ for 16 years as well as his 8 years of service, prior to that, in the music ministry of St. Lukes Church in Hohokus, NJ. Being so faith driven is what has inspired his new show "Listen to my Heart" featuring some of the most positive and hope filled songs from stage, screen and pop. Unable, for obvious reasons, to maintain service at one church, Greg now brings his talents to various church's sharing God's gift of music and raising spirits wherever he can. Greg Caldarone grew up in the small community of Waldwick, New Jersey, less than one hour from Manhattan, but practically a world away. He was the only boy of five children born to Rosemarie and Nino Caldarone. All the Caldarones loved music, and their tastes varied widely. With four sisters it was not unusual to hear two or more kinds of music playing in the family home at the same time. "There was disco, classic rock, pop and even r & b", Greg recalls, "Yet it was the music my mother enjoyed, the great singers of the classic standards, that influenced me the most. Greg’s interest in singing turned serious when, as a teenager, he became a folk choir member at St. Luke’s Church in Hohokus, New Jersey, and at times would perform various solos He began his professional singing career at the age of sixteen when he booked a paid engagement at a wedding celebration. He parlayed that first job into steady work, and at the same time continued his devotion to the choir. Later he would become the cantor of The Church of the Nativity in Midland Park, NJ. A relationship that lasted 16 years and one that he still cherishes today. Like many east coast kids, Greg started working in the family business as a youth. Greg’s dad, Nino, a tailor, owned a tailoring/dry-cleaning establishment in Waldwick with Greg’s grandfather and uncle ( it's worth mentioning Greg's uncle, Sal Caldarone, is a well renowned artist who's paintings are highly acclaimed). Greg first pulled janitorial duty, and eventually he was taught to press clothing, a job he despised when the east coast dog days of summer would arrive. Says Greg, “In summer, pressing was just AWFUL. I would literally bake!” But as the end of high school approached (Greg graduated from Northern Highlands H.S. in Allendale, New Jersey) and he remained intent on pursuing his music, Greg’s dad suggested that his son might want to learn the sewing arts, a trade that had provided a nice living for the Caldarone family. “My father completely encouraged me to follow my dream, and at the same time he offered an opportunity to learn an unusual skill that could compensate for the ebb and flow of performing, if I needed it,” recalls Greg. Greg learned how to be a tailor, a trade that he still practices occasionally at his father’s shop in Ramsey, New Jersey. About the tailoring business, Greg says, “There’s something about it that’s like creating a musical arrangement, or an interpretation of a song. Sometimes you start off simple, and add to it. Occasionally, you back pedal on an idea because it’s not really what you pictured, or saw in your mind’s eye. In the end, like an arrangement, a garment really has to fit you!” In his late teens, Greg spent five minutes in a local restaurant that would change his life. He stopped in on a friend’s gig, and he spontaneously performed a song with the group. His pal suggested that Greg should be performing in Manhattan singing at showcases. Greg had no idea what he was talking about. Manhattan was not a place he went to very frequently, and he didn’t even know that a cabaret scene existed. So, across the river he went, at first with store bought sheet music and some basic patter that he stammered out between songs. He went to Manhattan as often as possible after that. The intimacy of the genre thrilled and scared him, and he loved it more and more. As time went on, he put an act together and experimented with other instrumentation, sometimes working solely with a guitar. He studied the recordings of Johnny Mathis and Jack Jones and Jimmy Roselli, learning to caress lyrics like his idols did. He listened to Engelbert Humperdinck and Barbra Streisand for the quality of their song selections. He was really pursuing the entertainment business at this point, and his singing engagements became much more varied. He was adding steady restaurant gigs, wedding gigs, National Anthem engagements at stadiums, and corporate bookings to his resume. In 1996, the decision that Greg had made years earlier to learn his father’s trade delivered an unbelievable bonus. During a conversation with Greg one day at the shop, jazz icon Bucky Pizzarelli, a long time client, encouraged him to record some of the Italian standards that Greg often performed in concert. Greg, Bucky, his son John Pizzarelli, the bassist Jerry Bruno, and guitarist Lou Pallo got together and recorded Greg Caldarone’s first CD, COME BACK TO SORRENTO. It was a new turning point for Greg, and the presence of the brilliant Pizzarrelli family on his first recording raised his profile on the national scene. He followed that recording with THE NEARNESS OF YOU in 1998, and his current release SHOULD’VE NEVER LET YOU GO. As a working entertainer,
Greg Caldarone has many high profile engagements with show business
luminaries to his credit. And yet, after all these years, he is just
as excited about sharing his gift with various churches and charitable
organizations and continues to do so. He’s dedicated to his faith, and
to the concept of giving back to the community where his passion was
born. Radio Publicity: Booking Information: Listen To/Buy Music |
