COMPOSERS: Jack Hues
LABELS: Helium Records
ALBUM TITLE: The-Quartet
PERFORMER: jack Hues (guitar, percussion), Sam Bailey (piano), Rutledge Turnland (bass), Michael Porter (drums), Paul Booth (tenor sax)
CATALOGUE NO: HeCD 001
With age comes maturity and, in the case of many rock musicians, a jazz album. For elderly Rolling Stones and semi-retired ‘Police’-men, jazz is a way of channelling mid-life mellowness or big band nostalgia. It doesn’t have to be so predictably menopausal though.
Guitarist Jack Hues is a career rock and roller who made his pun-tastic name with successful post-punk band Wang Chung. Now he’s teamed up with veteran rock producer Chris Hughes to make a subtly rewarding jazz-rock record. Yes, the music is recognisably guitar led fusion, but the fused elements vary intriguingly from piece to piece.
Listen and listen again: there’s a lot more to this carefully woven crossover than first meets the ear. Garry Booth