Matt Bianco

Matt's Mood is the 2004 "temporary comeback" album by UK outfit Matt Bianco, released for Universal, and distributed by the Emarcy label. The album makes heavy use of Danny White and Basia Trzetrzelewska's signature harmonies. The two rejoined the band after twenty years (only to leave shortly after the end of the promotional world tour to revitalise their own career under the joint name of Basia). The third member on this installation of Matt Bianco is vocalist and composer Mark Reilly, whom many identify as the face of the band, being the only one constant member since its inception in 1983.

In 2015 a string of inspirational encounters led Matt Bianco founder and singer Mark Reilly to combine forces with Amsterdam based jazz pioneers New Cool Collective for a collaboration that resulted in an album entitled 'The Things You Love'. Reilly subsequently released another successful Matt Bianco album in 2017 entitled 'Gravity' and toured around the world to promote it. Fast forward to early 2020, and both parties found themselves recording together again in Amsterdam, adding the South American cumbia and other new sounds to their joint fascination with Latin, jazz, soul and R&B. "Although I attended some rehearsals in Amsterdam to work on arrangements of song ideas NCC had put together, I deliberately didn't present many song ideas myself.

Some things just get better with time. Red wine and self-confidence, for instance, or Matt Bianco. The legendary British group, named after an imaginary Sixties superspy in the Eighties, is adored around the world for hits like "Half A Minute", "Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed", "Whose Side Are You On?", or "Yeh Yeh". For their fifteenth album "Gravity", front-man, vocalist and songwriter Mark Reilly recruited a superb new band featuring Swedish sax- and flute-star Magnus Lindgren and a large chunk of Jamie Cullum's group. Their mission: reviving and modernizing Matt Bianco's Bossa- and Jazz-roots, while keeping the easy going swing of former successes, built around the singularly recognizable Dry-Martini-voice of Mark Reilly. The result is an energetic, yet relaxed collection of ten original songs, with enough gravity to please their most sophisticated admirers and plenty of new fans, who might have been bitten by the Jazz-bug via a Gregory Porter or Jamie Cullum.

After a series of inspiring meetings Matt Bianco (Mark Reilly) and New Cool Collective noticed that their style of music and work were a perfect match. They sent ideas back and forth between London and Amsterdam, which first resulted in an EP containing 5 tracks. Fourbrand new songs and one remake of the well-known Matt Bianco hit 'Don't Blame It On That Girl'. They went on 'The Things You Love'-tourshortly after and due to the great success and demand for more music New Cool Collective and Matt Bianco decided to record a complete album. Five new numbers appear on the disc alongside the EP tracks: including 'Cry', the superb combi with Clean Bandit singer Elisabeth Troy, and a Matt Bianco & New Cool Collective makeover of one of NCCs own songs: The result is a swinging version of the song 'Bring It On'.

Matt Bianco does it again with Gran Via ! Released in 1995 after the limited release of their U.S.A. project titled Another Place, Another Time (released on the JVC label). Another Place, Another Time is now out of print. However, anyone who owned that release will see a continuation of both theme and sound in Gran Via.Ironically, the ballad track Love Life which appears on Gran Via was also previously released on Another Time, Another Place… Matt Bianco no longer sounds like their earlier efforts of synthesized Samba with singer Basia. This time it's a more mature and natural sounding style of adult, contemporary, jazz-pop feel garnished with a lot of Latin/salsa influences.Mark Reilly's vocals are light but as always still deliver and suit this particualr style of music perfectly.