THE Things You Love is the name of the new collaborative album by Matt Bianco’s Mark Reilly and New Cool Collective – and the distinctive Latin-inspired jazz sound is one of them.

Sadly, the concert hall at Lighthouse Poole was only around half full for this leg of the UK tour, but the audience was hugely appreciative.

Nicely warmed up by the evening’s support act, Bournemouth jazz quintet Thokozile Collective, we found it was impossible not to tap a foot or nod a head to the infectious sound.

Matt Bianco first came to fame in the early 1980s, and there was some reminiscing throughout the evening with tracks from that first album, Whose Side Are You On?, including More Than I Can Bear and the band’s very first single Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed.

Amsterdam-based New Cool Collective – a group of hugely talented musicians – were the perfect match for Reilly, their own sound blending beautifully with his effortless vocals.

They may have been smartly dressed in sharp suits, but this was no formal affair – there was plenty of dancing going on both on and off stage, while the audience enjoyed songs from the new album, such as We Should Be Dancing and Breaking Out, plus a cover of Yeah Yeah and Matt Bianco’s Don’t Blame It On That Girl.

After a day in the sunshine, an evening of Latin-inspired jazz left us feeling as if we’d been on holiday.