All of that is here -- but more, there's Puentes' fabulous voice and beautiful compositions.

Humo De Tabaco literally means "tobacco smoke", and it's a fitting title for an album by a singer with a voice like roasted charcoal. That voice is the album's chief asset, and the producers have been wise to mic Puentes close and generally to waste little time in getting the singing started.

Puentes reflects the same innate style and musicality in his singing as in his composition, wielding his instrument with restraint, tenderness and little sentimentality.

As for the compositions themselves, the promise of Puentes' pedigree is borne out, with the songs reflecting in turn the jazz ballad ('Daniel's Lullaby'), nueva trova ('Humo de Tabaco', 'CafÈ Havana'), son ('MuÈvete'), mambo ('Piropo') and even elements of funk ('B·ilalo Ahora') -- usually in cocktail form. There's also a strong pop feeling running through much of the music, something that seems to come naturally to the group rather than being a self-conscious attempt at commercialising.

The songs are beautifully crafted and melodically original. Even at their paciest, they never lose their intimacy and mellowness, and the arrangements are consistently subtle and light. The Alex Cuba Band are a full Cuban line-up, with percussion, bass, piano, brass, flute, keyboards, strings, tres (courtesy of a guest appearance by Pancho Amat on the title track) and backing vocals -- but they rarely fire on all cylinders at once. (The horns are mic'd as far away as the voice and guitar are close, and sparingly used.)

There's a tension between this mellowness and a clear desire to create danceable music, and the songs are often at their best (and certainly most distinctive) in the cool intros before the full band joins in.

One sticking point for me is the reliance on strings, which detracts from an otherwise very fine approach to texture. Another is the schmaltzy collaboration with Ron Sexsmith 'Lo Mismo Que Yo', in spite of the guest appearance of Chucho ValdÈs. (BBC Radio 2 disagrees and placed the song on their B list - made possible by Sexsmith's English-lyric contributions.)

These niggles aside, it's a great album, and a grower. Expect to hear more from Alexis Puentes.

Shell Records HAVE2CD