NEW RELEASES: MARIO BIONDI – BEYOND; JESSE FISCHER – DAY DREAMER; ROMAN DIAZ - L'O DA FUN BATA

MARIO BIONDI – BEYOND

Maybe the best album to date from Italian singer Mario Biondi – and easily his most soulful set to date! The album's got Mario moving past some of the retro jazz modes of his earliest records, to emerge as this universal soul star with a hell of a sound – a voice that easily moves past nation and culture to hit a vibe that could well make him one of the bigger global acts of the decade – layered with a groove that's steeped in 70s soul influences, but which has a cleaner, contemporary approach that suits Biondi's raspy presentation perfectly! Mario sings in English throughout – with this depth that maybe even rivals Barry White at his best, although with some more of the jazz inflections that Biondi had on other records. Some of these cuts are pretty damn catchy – and could win over anyone, even if they haven't followed Mario's previous records like we have – and titles include "All Of My Life", "I Chose You", "You Can't Stop This Love Between Us", "Heart Of Stone", "Fly Away", "Another Kind Of Love", "Where Does The Money Go", and "Open Up Your Eyes". Special bonus – this limited package also comes with a second CD – Mario Biondi Vs Commodores – which features Mario covering classics that include "Night Shift", "Three Times A Lady", "Lady", "Brick House", and "Easy".  ~ Dusty Groove

JESSE FISCHER – DAY DREAMER

A beautiful little record from pianist Jesse Fischer – and one that's got a much warmer sound than you'd expect from the piano key skeleton on the cover! Jesse's very well-schooled in different modes of souful expression – which means that he can create magic on an acoustic piano, but also glide even more warmly on Fender Rhodes and organ – shifting the mood from track to track as the instrumentation changes, but always keeping his core spirit wonderfully intact! There's a very positive vibe to the record – on both the instrumentals and vocal numbers – the latter of which (there's four of them on the set) feature great singing from Sarah Elizabeth Charles – one of the key guests on the album, alongside trumpeter Taukya Kuroda, and a host of other reed, guitar, and violin players too. The set features a sweet cover of Minnie Riperton's classic "Lovin You" – plus the titles "Nomads", "Mourning Dove", "Suite For The Blue Planet", "Refuge", "Heading Home", "Sanjee", and "Day Dreamer".  ~ Dusty Groove

ROMAN DIAZ - L'O DA FUN BATA

A very rootsy set of Cuban bata – and a record that almost feels like a vintage session for Folkways than some of the more contemporary music on the Motema label! The album's got a strong Yoruba bend – and features spoken passages between most of the percussive tracks – introducing different deities, who are then supported through highly spiritual performance that mixes chanted vocals with percussion by Roman and his group – with no other instrumentation at all! The notes put both the music and the references in the right sort of cultural perspective – and titles include "Agayu", "Oggun", "Elegua", "Oshun", "Shango", and "Obatala". ~ Dusty Groove