Gaz Hughes Quartet, Shrewsbury Jazz Network, The Hive Music & Media Centre, Shrewsbury, 09/03/2024.

Gaz Hughes – drums, Andrzej Baranek – piano, James Owston – double bass, Tim Williams – guitar

Drummer, composer and bandleader Gaz Hughes is currently engaged in a massive UK tour in support of his recent trio album “Nuclear Bebopalypse”, with dates stretching to October 2024.

Most of the dates thus far have featured the core trio of Hughes, pianist Andrzej Baranek and bassist Gavin Barras, all of whom appear on the recording. However this Shrewsbury Jazz Network event saw a rare outing for a Hughes quartet, with the Manchester based guitarist Tim Williams guesting with the band. There was also an enforced change in the bass chair with the estimable James Owston ‘depping’ for Gavin Barras, who had been called away due to a family illness. Owston proved to be a superb replacement and Williams a brilliant addition as the quartet, possibly a one off, delighted the Shrewsbury audience with their blend of bebop inspired original compositions and imaginative arrangements of jazz and bop standards.

My review of “Nuclear Bebopalypse” can be found here and forms the basis for the following biographical details;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/nuclear-bebopalypse

Cheshire based drummer, composer and bandleader Gaz Hughes first made his name on the Manchester jazz scene playing in bands led by trumpeter Matthew Halsall and pianist Adam Fairhall.

I first heard his playing on Halsall’s albums “On The Go” (2011) and “Fletcher Moss Park” (2012), both of which are reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann. Hughes was also part of Halsall’s touring band.

With Fairhall he was a member of the ensemble that recorded the innovative “The Imaginary Delta” (2012) and was also part of Fairhall’s regular working trio.

As a sideman Hughes has performed with a veritable ‘who’s who’ of British and American jazz musicians, among them pianists Tom Kinkaid, Dean Stockdale and Brian Dee, saxophonists Alan Barnes, Greg Abate, John Hallam, Tony Kofi, Scott Hamilton, Marshall Allen and Nat Birchall, trumpeter Bruce Adams, trombonist Mark Nightingale, vocalist Ian Shaw and guitarist Remi Harris, these representing just a few names on a long and illustrious list. He has also worked as a session musician in the fields of pop and television. As an educator Hughes holds teaching posts at Salford University and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Hughes names his main drumming influences as Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb, Ed Thigpen, Jeff Hamilton and Alan Dawson, players he describes as being “drummers that are able to spell out form and melody when they improvise”.

In February 2020 Hughes released his first album as a leader, the sextet recording “Plays Art Blakey”, which does exactly what it says on the tin with a set of tunes originally recorded by various editions of Blakey’s famous Jazz Messengers outfit. The selection includes a number of modern jazz standards from composers of the calibre of Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller and Bobby Watson.

For the recording Hughes had assembled a stellar quartet featuring saxophonists Alan Barnes (alto, baritone) and Dean Masser (tenor) plus trumpeter Bruce Adams, pianist Andrzej Baranek and bassist Ed Harrison. The group also embarked on a massive UK tour in support of the album but this was inevitably curtailed due to the Covid situation. Nevertheless I was able to catch a hugely enjoyable performance by the sextet at the Market Theatre in Ledbury on March 6th 2020, one of the last gigs I saw prior to lockdown. My account of that performance, plus a look at the “Plays Art Blakey” album can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/the-gaz-hughes-sextet-plays-art-blakey-the-market-theatre-ledbury-herefordshire-07-03-2020

The ‘rhythm section’ of Hughes, Baranek and Harrison established a close rapport during the making of the Blakey album and on the live dates that they were actually able to perform. The three then came together as The Gaz Hughes Trio to record the digital only release “Beboperation”, which first became available in May 2022. The recording features Hughes’ arrangements of jazz and pop standards by composers such as Duke Ellington and introduces his ‘melodic drumming concept’.

Released in February 2023 and available both digitally and on CD the trio’s second album “Beboptical Illusion” featured the same personnel and another punning title. This time, however, the focus was on Hughes’ original writing with seven tunes by the drummer / composer and just one outside item, an arrangement of Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”.

The album represented a major step forward for Hughes and my review of this impressive recording can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/the-gaz-hughes-trio-beboptical-illusion

2023’s “Nuclear Bebopalypse”  saw a change in the bass chair with Gavin Barras, a bandleader in his own right, taking over from Harrison. Hughes and Barras have previously worked together in the Matthew Halsall Band. The new album retained the focus on original composition with all of the writing shared between Hughes, Baranek and Barras, with the drummer / leader contributing the lion’s share of the tunes.

The first quartet date of the tour had attracted a good sized crowd to The Hive and the band hit the ground running with the title track from the “Beboptical Illusion” album. This offered an excellent example of the band’s skilful updating of conventional jazz and bebop virtues, the music clearly rooted in the tradition but still sounding fresh and surprisingly contemporary. Hughes and Barras had previously worked with Williams as part of a quartet led by the pianist and composer Dean Stockdale and all appear on Stockdale’s “Celebrating Oscar Peterson” album. It was Williams who took the first solo here, immediately impressing with his sophisticated chording and fluent bop inspired melody lines. Baranek followed on his Roland electric keyboard, which remained on an acoustic piano setting all night. Owston was also featured on double bass and Hughes at the drums on a lively opener that introduced the individual instrumental voices of the band, but which also served as an eloquent collective statement.

Baranek is a popular figure with the Shrewsbury audience following previous visits to The Hive as a member of bands led by saxophonists Casey Greene and Chris Gumbley and as a member of the Mancunian quintet The Magic Hat Ensemble, led by trumpeter Steve Chadwick. He’s an inventive and imaginative piano soloist and also a skilled composer as his tune “AB’s Blues”, the second track on the “Nuclear Bebopalypse” demonstrated. A piece with a modern slant but with the feel of a bebop standard this composition featured his own fluent soloing and also saw him entering into a series of lively exchanges with the leader’s drums. Solos also came from Williams and Owston, the latter a graduate of the Jazz Course at Birmingham Conservatoire and an increasingly in demand musician who has performed with such luminaries as saxophonist Xhosa Cole and drummer Clark Tracey. Also a previous visitor to The Hive Owston had appeared at the venue with Cole’s quartet in January 2020, a show reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann.

A performance of the Nat King Cole ballad “Beautiful Moons Ago” was notable for the delicate guitar and piano interplay between Williams and Baranek, prior to the delivery of their individual solo statements. Following the gig several observers noted how attentively the pair had listened to each other, never getting in one another’s way,  as can sometimes happen with this combination of instruments. A word too for the sensitive brushed drum accompaniment provided by leader Hughes.

An unusual Latin style arrangement of George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Birdland” was introduced by a passage of unaccompanied piano from Baranek before Hughes’ Latin rhythms helped to fuel further solos from Williams and Baranek. The performance also included an impressive solo drum feature from Hughes that saw him making extensive and imaginative use of bare hands before eventually graduating to sticks.

Owston has developed into a brilliant all round bass player, a superb accompanist with a full command of time and swing and a dexterous, fluent and imaginative soloist. “Alice in Wonderland” was introduced by an extended passage of unaccompanied double bass that held the audience spellbound, with guitar, piano and brushed drums eventually added. Further solos were to follow from Williams and Baranek.

The first set concluded with “Nuclear Bebopalypse” itself, which was performed in piano trio format as Williams sat out. The album features two compositions with the same title, Part 1 written by Baranek and Part 2 by Hughes. We heard Baranek’s piece, introduced by the composer with a dazzling passage of rapid fire piano, his keyboard pyrotechnics subsequently fuelled by Owston’s propulsive bass lines and Hughes’ rapidly brushed drums. Baranek’s expansive piano solo was followed by Hughes’ brushed drum feature as the first half ended on an energetic, upbeat note.

Set two commenced with the pure bebop sounds of the Thelonious Monk composition “I Mean You” with Williams returning to the fold to take the first solo, followed by Baranek at the piano and Owston with a passage of unaccompanied double bass.. Hughes’ crisp, powerful drumming helped to keep the music moving forward and a rousing start to the second half was crowned by an exuberant drum feature.

Although Gavin Barras was physically absent he was still present in spirit as the band played his composition “Disinformation”, a contrafact of Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation”. Introduced by Baranek at the piano the distinctive arrangement also saw Owston making effective use of the bow prior to delivering a plucked bass solo. Williams was to follow on guitar and then Baranek on piano, the latter also entering into a series of exchanges with leader Hughes. Facing each other on stage the musical relationship between Hughes and Baranek was at the core of the quartet’s sound. Following the individual solos the restatement of the theme saw Owston flourishing the bow once more.

It was Owston that introduced the Hughes composition “Shootin’ From The Hip!”, a piece described by its composer as “a funky little tune”. Owston’s bass motif, allied to the composer’s briskly brushed drums set the pace as the interplay between Williams and Baranek developed into more substantial solo features from each, with Owston eventually following on double bass. Good humour is a feature of Hughes’ performances and at the close the quartet teased the audience with a series of false endings.

That sense of fun was also apparent on an Oscar Peterson inspired arrangement of “Put On A Happy Face”, a tune selected by Baranek. Performed as a trio item this was a piece that allowed the pianist to shine as he shared the solos with bassist Owston, the pair supported by leader Hughes, who deployed a combination of brushes and sticks.

Williams returned for the Hughes composition “White Noise”, a piece that combines bebop and Latin flavours. Ushered in by Baranek at the piano and with Williams taking the first solo on guitar this was a performance that included unaccompanied passages from both Baranek and Owston, the latter’s solo also augmented by the patter of Hughes’ hand drumming. Baranek’s command of Latin jazz piano styles was genuinely impressive.

Announcing the final number, an interpretation of the classic jazz ballad “Body and Soul”, Hughes was quick to praise the professionalism and musicianship of his colleagues, and rightly so. He singled out Owston for his contribution, declaring that the dep had ‘smashed it’ as the bassist fitted in seamlessly, his playing immaculate throughout. Owston was again featured with the bow as the tune was ushered in by a combination of piano and arco bass, with Owston stating the melody at one point. The addition of guitar and brushed drums led to a pure toned solo from Williams, who had favoured a clean, orthodox jazz guitar sound throughout the evening. Baranek’s piano solo included an unaccompanied passage, this providing the link as the quartet segued into the Thelonious Monk composition “Straight No Chaser”. This featured further solos from Williams, Baranek and Owston as Hughes’ drumming became more powerful and propulsive, culminating in a series of dynamic drum breaks.

Acting as MC for the evening Hugh Hannaford had little difficulty in persuading the quartet to remain on stage for a deserved encore. This proved to be “Seven Steps to Heaven”, written by Victor Feldman for Miles Davis. Introduced by the leader at the drums the performance included solos from Williams and Baranek and culminated in a drum feature for Hughes, who had performed with power and accuracy all night, his playing reminiscent of the precision of a Swiss watch.

There’s nothing pretentious about what Hughes and his colleagues do. They play straight-ahead jazz with a modern twist and do so with skill, conviction and a genuine elan. These qualities, allied to Hughes’ warm and witty presenting style, ensured that the Shrewsbury audience absolutely loved them and there was a real ‘feel good’ quality about the evening as a whole. Also one shouldn’t underestimate the abilities of Hughes, Baranek and Barras as composers, their original tunes more than held their own amongst the ‘classics’.

My thanks to the band members for speaking with me during the interval and at the close. The current tour is evidently proving to be a huge success on the evidence of tonight’s performance it’s easy to see why.

I have to say that the addition of Williams was a very welcome bonus as he added even more colour and variation to the music and also proved to be a highly capable guitar soloist.

I’m now looking forward to seeing Hughes and Williams again when they visit Kidderminster Jazz Club as part of Dean Stockdale’s quartet on 7th June 2024. Hopefully Barras will be on that gig too.

Please visit http://www.gazhughesmusic.com for the full Gaz Hughes Trio tour schedule and to purchase albums.

 

 

 

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