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Handful of Soul
Mario Biondi & the High Five Quintet
Handful of Soul
Genres: International Music, Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (12) - Disc #1

An incredible full length debut from vocalist Mario Biondi -- a jazz singer we'd rank right up there with the legendary Mark Murphy -- supported here with great backings from the High Five Quintet! The grooves here are in ...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Mario Biondi & the High Five Quintet
Title: Handful of Soul
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: FAMILY AFFAIR DISTRIBUTION
Release Date: 11/3/2006
Album Type: Import
Genres: International Music, Jazz, Pop
Styles: Europe, Continental Europe, Vocal Jazz, Vocal Pop, Euro Pop, Italian Pop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
Other Editions: Handful of Soul
UPCs: 8018344014067, 801834401406

Synopsis

Album Description
An incredible full length debut from vocalist Mario Biondi -- a jazz singer we'd rank right up there with the legendary Mark Murphy -- supported here with great backings from the High Five Quintet! The grooves here are in a soaring, tightly-stepping style -- very much the best club jazz mode of the contemporary European scene -- with all-acoustic instrumentation, and rhythms that move along at a really great dancefloor pace! Mario's vocals are really unique too -- with a little rasp that catches slightly, and really brings a timeless quality to his voice -- mixing personal feeling into the lively numbers on the album, with an unexpected depth that really makes the album stand out from similar sessions of this type! There's echoes of hip vocal jazz work from years past by artists like The Peddlers, Bobby Cole, or Mark Murphy

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CD Reviews

Truly an amazing artist
Brian Wilson | 11/16/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mario Biondi has one of those powerful voices that you do not forget. After hearing one of his songs playing in a lounge of a restaurant, I went home and looked him up on Amazon. The rest is history. After I listened to the sample clips I had to order the CD. Every song is just as amazing as the other; there is not a single track I am not wild about. This is one of those must-have CD's for any music collection."
Il Grande Mario Biondi!
20YrTrader | USA | 02/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard his video with Neri Per caso on Youtube, what a fool believes, and that turned me on to him. What an amazing singer, great voice and artistry. A mix of a young Italian Barry White with Sinatra smooth who can do Jazz like an American from Nawlin's, and a man who takes him music seriously. Very tight and high musicianship."
JAZZY, DEEP, BEAUTIFUL & WARM!
Rafael Cova | Caracas, Venezuela | 11/06/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I didn't know anything about Mario Biondi until release from Dimitri From Paris "Return To The Playboy Mansion" Return to the Playboy Mansion

You will be surprised by this singer's deep and warm voice. It recalls the great interpreter of soul and rhythm 'n' blues music. Many will think of a black singer. Mario was born in Catania, Sicilia, Italy. Certainly he's capable of expressing his Soul when singing. "Handful of Soul" is an album ranging between Jazz and Soul. The result is in this very enticing music release, whose sound swings from smooth vocal melodies to rhythmic tracks to dance to. The love for Rhythm & Blues and Soul, the styles of music mostly appreciated by Mario, took him to listen to a certain music repertoire, in particular some of the most representative related artists (Earth Wind & Fire, Donny Hattaway, Billy Paul, Luther Vandross, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, Eryka Badu, Will Dowing. In this album, not only he delivers a very convincing interpretation but his voice adds a different color to the music in "Slow Hot Wind" as well as in "A handful of Soul". The feel-good sensation spread in "On A Clear Day" is certainly enhanced by the deep husky voice of the interpreter. Mario himself remained pleasantly astonished by his own familiarity with those tunes. The inspiration he got from singing them moved himself, along with the other co-authors, to lay down the track "Gig", clearly of American derivation, Cole Porter style. Whilst "No Mercy For Me" reveals Mario's true soul of a crooner, "This Is What You Are" the most beautiful song in this album, a fine piece of vocal dance-jazz with fascinating harmonies and captivating solos. Tributes to rock-blues, soul-blues and rhythm-blues follow respectively in the shape of "I Can't Keep From Crying Sometime" by Al Kooper."