On Tuesday 13 May, just a few days after the official launch at the Fly By Night Club in Fremantle, Paul Gioia will be revisiting the Perth Blues Club to showcase his brand new CD, Rising Sea.

In 2008, Paul recorded a new collection of mostly original songs and instrumentals in Rising Sea, the follow-up to his excellent debut CD Mercy Train. With acoustic piano at the core, the CD also features some great jazz and blues musicians including Mat Jodrell, Carl Mackey, Andrew Winton and Dave Billings, as well as Paul's own trio members Kris Arnott and Bob Thomson.

But for Paul, this album is really about the song, not just the music, with edgy and sometimes provocative lyrics that explore life, love, and the cracks in between. From wildly joyous and foot-stomping blues and gospel to intensely moving ballads.

"I wanted Rising Sea to be darker, bluesier, jazzier than Mercy Train," said Paul. "While acoustic piano is still very much at the core of the music, this is a more produced sound with each track trying to distill something important from each genre."

"Some great jazz and blues musicians have contributed to the final product, but for me this album is really about the song, not just the music," he said.

"Although the title track is topical at the moment," said Paul, "it was written well before climate change was mainstream - and Rising Sea just happened to be the strongest track on the album."

"I hope you enjoy it."  

Listen to a sample of the title track Rising Sea