Andrzej Baranek (piano); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums)
Gaz Hughes is an Opus 4 Jazz Club favourite. The Traveller's Rest filled up nicely and by the eight o'clock down beat the regulars, creatures of habit that they are, had taken their usual seats. Bandleader Gaz is an amiable sort and chatted to all and sundry both pre and post-gig. The jazz would speak for itself, then some!
When it comes to touring, Gaz Hughes is 'old school', this Darlington date coming towards the end of a 50-date tour, not for him five gigs in six months constituting a tour! Drummer Hughes' back catalogue, more accurately, the titles of his albums, more than hint at where his heart lies - Beboperation (2022), Beboptical Illusion (2023) and the trio's latest release, Nuclear Bebopalypse. During the course of two sets, Hughes, pianist Andrzej Baranek and bassist Gavin Barras would revisit some of the material which is fast becoming familiar listening to an ever-growing fan base.
Nuclear Bebopalypse, Baranek's AB Blues, the Gaz Hughes Trio hit the ground running, giving the Opus 4 crowd exactly what it wanted. Playing together as often as they do, it came as little surprise that Hughes, Baranek and Barras were on top of the arrangements, tempo changes and many moments of highwire (no safety net) improvisations. A Latin treatment of Lullaby of Birdland, the waltz-time Alice in Wonderland, Monk's I Mean You and Hughes' Disinformation and Shootin' from the Hip! made for a varied set list, the variety maintaining the audience's interest throughout. The audience wanted more and a Monk encore sent us (happily) on our way. Russell
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