The current album.... Tony O'Malley - Lead vocals, keyboards & background vocals Marty Townsend - Guitars & background vocals Thierry Fanfant - Bass Frederic Jacquemin - Drums (except 10) Nico Schepers - Trumpet (8 & 10) Frank Deruytter - Sax (8 & 10) Jan De Backer - Trombone (8 & 10) Femke Waardenburg - Background vocals (1 & 9) Mel Collins - Sax solo (5) Yves Baibay - Drums (10) Recorded, Produced and Mixed by Tony O'Malley and Marty Townsend. ---------- Tony has been a member of several bands, including Arrival, Kokomo & 10CC. ---------- Review from the LA Daily News:- Tony O'Malley: "Oh!" This is the sort of adult pop that could make smooth-jazz radio palatable. Brit keyboardist-singer O'Malley's stylish new effort sums up all that's appealing about this distinctive blue-eyed soul man. The punchy title track, which brings to mind O'Malley's years with the '70s funk-soul revue Kokomo, is an instant standout, while a sophisticated "Nathalie" recalls Steely Dan. The pretty ballad "Just Because" is lifted by a starry solo from saxist and Kokomo alum Mel Collins, and the syncopated "Your Smile" is a fine R&B number. O'Malley has long deserved attention on this side of the atlantic and with the import-only "Oh!", or perhaps the standards set to follow, programmers would be wise to take notice. (Now available in the US from www.cdbaby.com). Fred Shuster ------ Review from Jazzwise, UK's leading jazz monthly. Perennial favourite at London's 606 Jazz Club, where his band often features some of the UK's most promising jazz and funk musicians, the velvet gravel throated O'Malley is one of the UK's most under-sung vocal performers. He's perhaps best known as the founder vocalist and keyboard player of the mid-1970s Brit-funk giants Kokomo, that also featured Jim Mullen, who cut three critically acclaimed but criminally ignored albums for CBS. More recently he's pursued a solo career, mixing strong soul-funk originals with jazz standards, and cut a fine live album at Ronnie Scott's in 1994 followed by a cracking 1997 studio date, "Sunshine Everyday". recorded in Belgium, where he now lives, and featuring mostly local musicians, "Oh!" is the long awaited follow up to "Sunshine Everyday" and slips effortlessly into that disc's timeless flow. If anything the grooves are phatter, the songs more personal and the arrangements more sophisticated, though still drenched in the deep soulful spirit that characterises everything he touches. If justice prevailed O'Malley would occupy a similar pedestal to Boz Scaggs, though his rich Ray Charles meets Bobby Bland-influenced vocals, uplifting arrangements and ability to pull so much heartfelt soul from a song gets to places Scaggs rarely visits. Highlights include the joyous "Your Smile", the Kokomo-esque old school funk rompers, "Voodoo Dance" and "Never Give Up", the Donald Fagen-like twist to "Nathalie" and the Miles Davis-inspired "A New Kind of Blue", with cool muted trumpet solo from Nico Schepers. With so much emphasis currently placed on discovering new UK jazz vocal talent one of the hottest properties is standing directly in the line of sight. If this album doesn't open more eyes then next year's jazz standards set definitely will. John Newey ------ A fifth album, "My Foolish Heart", a selection of great standards, will be available soon....