A Trip to David Hughes' Foreign Shores

In 2005, Justin Guarini released an album of reinvented jazz standards. That album lead Justin to hire a friend of his drummer, a bassist named David Hughes, for a local LA gig. This in turn lead David Hughes to discover that Guarini had exactly the voice and the improvisational skills he needed for two songs on the solo album he was recording. Thus explains how an American Idol runner-up ended up making a guest appearance on a new contemporary jazz album.

David describes tbe album. "Foreign Shores," as "creative and original melodic jazz with funky grooves and energetic improvisations." Indeed, that is an apt description. There are funk, r&b, soul, and pop influences to be found across the album. The music is melodic enough to let you become familiar with the songs, yet not so familiar that the music fades into the background. The bass plays a prominent role, which brings out the funk factor. At the same time, this is not a "bass album," as David gives each of his guest musicians a chance to break out.

The song for which the album is named, "Foreign Shores," is a great example. It takes you on a journey, begining with a bit of banjo, a true American instrument, and then adds some chiming, Asian-inspired chords and a lively flute, throws in a drum section in the middle, and ends with extended improvisation that takes it beyond so-called smooth jazz (which, to some, means elevator music). "Snowflakes," a personal favorite of this blog's author, starts with a bright bass line joined by sustained atonal piano scales that add a slight touch of chaos - just like a snowfall.

"Your Sweet Voice" sounds more like instrumental pop and could easily be reinvented as a ballad heard on your local Adult Contemporary station. "Grace Peace Earth" is a meditation played entirely on the bass.

Then, there are the two songs for which Justin provides vocals. "Brazil" is David Hughes' own composition (should you be familiar with the classic samba version, this is not that). It is not all that common to include vocals on contemporary jazz recordings, so David explains how he come to include them on "Brazil:"

"From the start I only heard piano, then piano and flute. Then piano, flute and vocal. It is pretty typical for me that a melody comes quickly, but the actual arrangement gradually takes shape."

When recording the vocals, David had ideas in mind but knew he had a great improvisational vocalist, and wanted to bring that out:

"My arrangements tend to have sections that are very specific and sections that are very open to the musicians' ideas. On 'Brazil,' I instructed Justin exactly what to sing for the melodies, but during the solo trading I wanted him to be totally free."

That solo trading, between Justin and Katisse Buckingham on flute, ends with Justin's own flute-like vocalization taking off into the stratosphere.

The other song on which Justin provides vocals is "I wish," which unlike "Brazil," has written lyrics. David explains why he decided to cover a Stevie Wonder song as follows:

"I have always loved that song and I consider it a 'bass player anthem' due to the strong bassline with essentially constitutes a counter-melody. It would be extremely presumptuous to think Stevie's song can be improved, but it is nevertheless possible to infuse a little of your own musical personality by rearranging the song. I changed the chords and melody a little in the second half of the verse, because I like songs with unexpected harmonic progressions. The groove in the first half of the chorus is changed to emphasize what I perceive as the 'funkyness' of the song. I wanted the bridge to contrast with the energy of the choruses, to allow for a little relief. The last chorus modulates up a half step, it's an overused trick to kick the energy level up a notch, but if you do it right it's very effective and refreshing. I also added a few syncopations in the drums and bass, something inspired by Earth Wind & Fire."

He was very pleased with what Justin added to the song:

"Justin deserves accolades for his performance. I think the original key is Eb, and my arrangement starts out in that key, but then modulates up a half step...That is definitely high! I think Justin brought the perfect interpretation of the song to the table. He is a great musician who instinctively understands what the arrangement calls for on his behalf. He sticks to the melody enough to make is sound like a song and not just a jam, but improvises the right amount to keep the excitement up and make the song more interesting."

While not a jam, in the sense that term suggests a lack of direction, the horns and sax and Justin's singing make "I Wish" a hell of a lot of fun.

In other words, if you are a contemporary jazz fan, there is a lot to discover on this album. If you're a Justin Guarini fan, there is a lot to love on this album, beyond the tracks on which he sings.

Some final words from David Hughes on his guest vocalist:

"I was blown away when I heard [Stranger Things Have Happened, Justin's jazz album]! Greg Gordon Smith helped come up with some fantastic, creative arrangements of songs I've played a million times, and a few that were more unusual. Justin adjusts his voice quality to suit the mood and sound of the songs and his improvising is on par with that of a great instrumentalist. I would compare him to another great jazz vocalist, Kurt Elling, but since Justin is younger, there is a different timbre in his sound and perhaps a little more daring approach."

Daring? Yeah, that describes Justin as a vocalist. It's great to hear him in the company of accomplished and equally daring musicians. Pick up a copy of this album for all of the journey on which it takes you.