Matt Bianco: ‘Masquerader’

For those of us of a certain age, Matt Bianco provided musical highlights through the 1980s and now the band is set to do the same again, with the release of ‘Masquerader’. Alongside ‘Half a Minute’ and ‘Get Out of Your Lazy Bed’ from 1984, there are now some new classics with a newly-developed but ultimately recognisable sound.

I’m not sure if it’s deliberately ironic, but A Memory for Lovers includes references to songs played on the radio, which is where Matt Bianco owned the 1980s.

All these tracks have just the right balance of pop energy and latin jazz elements, co-composed by Mark Reilly and sax player Dave O’Higgins (with the exception of the utterly danceable Matucada, which is all Reilly. O’Higgins brings a real UK jazz sound in his tenor and baritone sax playing, as well as the horn arrangements.

The selection of musicians works brilliantly throughout: Mark Reilly (vocals and programming), Dave O’Higgins (tenor and baritone sax), Martin Shaw (trumpet and flugelhorn), Sebastian De Krom (drums), Geoff Gascoyne (double bass), Graham Harvey (piano, Rhodes and Wurlitzer), Ricardo Silveira (guitar), Betty Black (vocals) and Lino G Rocha (Latin vocals).

For all the pop, the jazz is very cool, especially the brilliant O’Higgins sax touches, and Martin Shaw’s lovely trumpet solo on Wanderlust. Moments of Silveira’s guitar throughout the album bring just the right amount of Latin and Gascoyne’s bass combines brilliantly with De Krom’s drums.

Matt Bianco reinvented for 2025 does it for me.