The latest releases reviewed.

PIETRO TONOLO Italian Songs EGEA ****

Mediterranean romanticism is married to New World drive in this encounter between Tonolo (tenor/soprano), Gil Goldstein (piano/accordion), Essiet Okun Essiet (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums/vibes). On a selection of Italian popular songs, Tonolo explores their moods - tender, sentimental, comic, elegiac, dramatic - with a heart-on-sleeve lyricism tempered by the propulsive and decidedly unsentimental urgency of Chambers, a surprising but successful choice for this kind of music, and Essiet. Helped by some discreet overdubbing, Goldstein has a foot in both camps, stylistically and instrumentally, so to speak, and the marriage works beautifully. In either world Tonolo is a gorgeous player, well capable of handling any context, inside or outside the envelope. Here it's almost all conventional, but beautifully done. www.egearecords.it

Ray Comiskey

CYRUS CHESTNUT Genuine Chestnut Telarc ***

Chestnut is an unabashed swinger, with a commanding technique and enough going on beneath the surface gloss to reassure that it's not all happy flash. Working with Michael Hawkins (bass), Neal Smith (drums) and Steven Kroon (percussion) added on eight tracks, plus Russell Malone (guitar) on three, Chestnut offers a well-crafted collection of performances, by turns elegant and ebullient, but always tasteful and engaging. The pieces with Malone (The Brown Soldier, El Numero Tres and I'm Walkin') come off best; the guitarist fits into the pianist's style and concept like a glove and his presence gives an extra spark to Chestnut's own playing. No surprises, but if hard swinging is your thing, this is a pleasant, enjoyable example of the genre. www.musicconection.org.uk

Ray Comiskey