Show 'n' tell: Dominic Chianese

The Sopranos won't be back until next fall, but this week fans can pick up where the show left off, with Uncle Junior serenading the crowd. Dominic Chianese, who plays the foul-mouthed, emasculated former mob boss, is touring to promote his first album, Hits, a collection of songs ranging from Italian classics to folk, and from pop numbers to "Amazing Grace."

CL: You're 70. Isn't that a little old for a debut album?

Dominic Chianese: It's pretty mind-boggling. It's very exciting and very rewarding for me to be able to sing all these songs.

So why now?

The Sopranos put me on the map and only now people have noticed that I can sing. Being Uncle Junior has given me such notoriety — I've been on Conan O'Brien, and Regis and all the New York shows. I'm now known as an actor, and so now I'm getting known as a singer. I've been lucky.

Speaking of which, the last time America saw you, you were singing after Jackie Junior's funeral. That must be quite a plug for a new album.

It was wonderful. [Show creator] David Chase did that, not me, but he figured out how to make it a proper motivation for the character. I don't think most people thought Uncle Junior could sing, but my character had a couple drinks in him, and he had just beaten cancer. He looks like he's drunk and he didn't want to sing. The other characters had to force him into singing. It was all David's idea.

So David and the other actors knew you could sing?

Most of them had heard me sing that song before, at a party a year previous to that, so they had heard me sing. And at the album release party, the whole cast came, or 95 percent of them.

There's a pretty diverse selection of songs on the album.

It's extremely diverse. I like all types of music. I'm a firm believer that a good singer can do anything short of opera. I started as a folk singer in the Village, and I do everything from folk to country to Italian songs, you name it. I just like music.

So how does an Italian guy from the Bronx end up recording his album in Nashville with a producer known for working with Steve Earle?

Well, I met [producer] Dub Cornett at a party held for a Nashville film festival. There was a guitar and I asked if I could borrow the guitar and sing, and they said, "Of course, Uncle Junior, you can do anything you want." So I did a country song, but I left before he could talk to me about it. He called me up later. I guess when you realize Uncle Junior can sing, there's commercial possibilities as well as artistic ones.

With all the different musical styles, is it tough to settle on a tone for a live show?

There'll be a mixed bag, I'm sure of that. That's why I like to solo, without arrangements. If I'm in the mood, I'll do anything: "Hava Nagila" or "Hotcha Chornya," that old Russian folk song, "Dark Eyes," like this: (sings) Da, da da, da da. It's beautiful. I'm learning the pronunciation now.

How does someone with such a beautiful singing voice end up being the best cusser on TV?

You can blame that on the writers. I had them change it once, because I didn't think a man like Uncle Junior would curse in front of Livia. But I think they do it to make it rough, a real cynical edge. Kids talk like that all the time now. But it's freedom of expression, and I've got nothing against it.

Dominic Chianese performs at the Variety Playhouse Fri., Aug. 24. Show time is 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.50. For more information, call 404-521-1786.??