NEW RELEASES - SANTE PALUMBO, BILLY HARPER, ALFIE SILAS

SANTE PALUMBO - STASERA IN CASA SEDUTI IN POLTRONA CON LA LUCE DIFFUSA: COMPLESSO DI SANTE PALUMBO

A wonderful little set from Italian pianist Sante Palumbo – one that reflects his important work in the Rai studios, but which also really shows his work in jazz as well! The album's a relaxed small group outing – delivered with a breezy blend of bossa nova and other lyrical modes – of the sort that really show the special sound of the Italian scene at the time, and which draws a definite link to some of the soundtrack styles of the period too. Sante plays mostly acoustic piano – although some keys seem to be electric too – and the group features really wonderful flute from Gianni Bedori, who also plays some tenor too – plus guitar from Sergio Farina, bass from Marco Ratti, and drums from Lino Liguori. The group get a bit funky at points – making for some great energy alongside the more laidback tunes – and titles include "Sbam", "Dixi Samba", "Oriental Dog", "Saxoscopio", "Bossa Kiss", "Cartavetrata", and "Swingin Bossa". (Limited to 300 copies – in a beautiful package with very faithful cover reproduction, special sleeve, and insert too!) ~ Dusty Groove

BILLY HARPER - THE AWAKENING

A wonderful little set from Italian pianist Sante Palumbo – one that reflects his important work in the Rai studios, but which also really shows his work in jazz as well! The album's a relaxed small group outing – delivered with a breezy blend of bossa nova and other lyrical modes – of the sort that really show the special sound of the Italian scene at the time, and which draws a definite link to some of the soundtrack styles of the period too. Sante plays mostly acoustic piano – although some keys seem to be electric too – and the group features really wonderful flute from Gianni Bedori, who also plays some tenor too – plus guitar from Sergio Farina, bass from Marco Ratti, and drums from Lino Liguori. The group get a bit funky at points – making for some great energy alongside the more laidback tunes – and titles include "Sbam", "Dixi Samba", "Oriental Dog", "Saxoscopio", "Bossa Kiss", "Cartavetrata", and "Swingin Bossa". (Limited to 300 copies – in a beautiful package with very faithful cover reproduction, special sleeve, and insert too!) ~ Dusty Groove
 

ALFIE SILAS - ALFIE / BE YOURSELF   A pair of Alfie Silas albums for RCA – back to back on a single CD! First up is Alfie – filled with sweet crossover grooves from Alfie Silas – a singer with the same hook-heavy approach used by other 80s female singers like Denice Williams or Cheryl Lynn – set up here with some great grooves to match! The tunes are all pretty upbeat and catchy – playful tunes that never try too hard for the charts, yet have an instantly appealing sound that should have made this album way bigger than it was. Rhythms are straightforward, never too overdone – and Alfie surprises us with some deeper tones on a few of the album's hipper tracks. The album contains the singles "There I Go" and "A Puppet To You" – plus the tracks "Put The Freeze On", "Body Heat", and "Can't We Do It All Again". CD also features bonus tracks "A Puppet To You (12" mix)", and "A Puppet To You (inst)". Be Yourself is a shorter album than usual – part of the "mini LP" format that RCA was trying out in the early 80s – but a set that steps forward strongly with some great studio help from Larry Graham – who produced, wrote all tracks, and also plays drums, bass, and keyboards. Alfie's catchy vocals get just the right sort of focus from Graham's grooves – and titles include "Be Yourself", "Just A Little Bit", "You Put The L In Love", "Stay With Me", and "I'm Available". Also features the bonus track "You Put The L In Love (12" mix)". ~ Dusty Groove