Mattias Roos Album ‘Cali Dreaming’ Out Now

Flourishing in the smooth jazz friendly confines of Skytown Records,Swedish keyboard player Mattias Roos has released his latest project,“Cali Dreaming”. With nine original compositions plus one carefully crafted cover, “Cali Dreaming”is everything one would expect from an artist who without a shadow of doubt is riding the tsunami of a burgeoning solo career.

Arranged, produced and for the most part, written by Roos,“CaliDreaming" is quickly up and running with the vastly radio friendly title cut. It is the fourth single to be issued for airplay, and bears testimony to the incredible quality in depth that this collection enjoys.The song features Jeff Ryan on sax and provides an outstanding platform from which Roos dazzles on keys. When sax duties went to Gregor Hillman, the result is the easy grooving “Can You Feel The Love”, which is one of three tracks to include bass player Dwayne “Smitty” Smith. Another is the recording’s only cover, a moody rendition of the Randy Crawford classic “You Might Need Somebody” that can be found on her 1981 masterpiece “Secret Combination”.

Talking of easy grooving, it doesn't come much better than spine tingling “My Love” whereas “Fast Lane”(with U-Nam on rhythm and lead guitars)is the sort of feel good smooth jazz tune that is sure to attract follows. Much the same can be said of the relaxed yet enthralling “Feels So Right” that proves to be a wonderful showcase for Roos’ abundant talents, and that same relaxed vibe is very much the order of the day as he cleverly links the image of Cali Dreaming with the sort of weather that routinely defines this little piece west coast heaven. Take for example the hugely evocative “Chillin’ontheBeach”, the equally so “SunnyDays" and then, just as night follows day, the magical “SunsetBreeze” which is anchored by Johan Björklund and Ingemar Åberg on guitars plus Wictor Persson on drums.