Terri Dunbar-Curran
ADJUST your shoulder pads and add an extra dash of gel to your hair because Matt Bianco will bring the good times to GrandWest’s Grand Arena on Monday at 8pm.
The UK-based “jazzpop” band rose to fame in the 1980s and produced jazz and Latin-inspired hits like More Than I Can Bear, Wap Bam Boogie, Good Times and Dancing in the Street.
While the current group includes lead vocalist Mark Reilly and keyboardist Mark Fisher, they will be joined on stage by drummer Tony Mason, bassist Nick Cohen, tenor saxophonist and flautist Greg Heath and backing vocalists Elisabeth Troy and Shea Matthews.
Reilly was one of the original band members in 1982, with ex-Wham and Second Image keyboardist and session musician Fisher joining a couple of years later.
Those who grew up in the 1980s will recall their favourite Matt Bianco hit, but Fisher says it’s difficult to pinpoint one song they’re most remembered for.
“Different songs were hits in different countries. However, we still enjoy playing songs like Whose Side are You On, Half a Minute, Yeh Yeh and Don’t Blame It On That Girl, and as we’re known for fusing Latin, jazz, R&B and pop I guess they cover all bases.”
With a career spanning more than three decades the group’s style is bound to have changed. “We’ve been fortunate; because there are only two of us, we have been able to choose the musicians who’ve played on our albums. This has meant that we’ve been able to use musicians that best suit a song, or the style of album we were making,” says Fisher.
They have travelled to places like Rio, Havana, Miami, Los Angeles and Seville in Spain to record, featuring musicians from those places. “That has obviously influenced what we’ve produced. It was a great learning curve for us and our music has evolved as a result. Image wise, we’re older and probably a little more relaxed these days, so suits are no longer de rigueur, though we do wear them occasionally.”
Fisher and Reilly ensure that they keep abreast of new recording techniques and technology at their own recording studios.
Matt Bianco has spent the past few months performing in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Holland, the UK, Japan and Ukraine to promote their 12th album, last year’s Hideaway.
“With Hideaway, we wanted to go for a more adult chilled-out sound and the reaction so far has been very positive,” says Fisher.
Fans will get to hear some of their latest songs at GrandWest, but they’ll also perform a collection of their older hits.
“There are eight of us on stage, so it’s a pretty full-on energetic gig, and we have yet to play one where the audience don’t start dancing.”
l Tickets are R195 to R325. To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000. On the same night as the Matt Bianco concert, the Cape Town Jazzathon will be relaunched in anticipation of the next Jazzathon event next year. To mark this occasion, the Jazzathon All Star Grand Band, consisting mainly of young up and coming musicians, will open for Matt Bianco.