Marcus Rezak

Chicago has a great music scene––our reputation for blues needs no mention and our jazz clubs are filled with phenomenal players of every instrument one could ever think of swinging with. But what sets Chicago apart are the bands on the fringes of the rock and jazz scenes. Bands like Tortoise, Algernon and The Hue are redefining fusion by truly combining jazz, rock and other elements in ways that their forbearers didn’t imagine.

Likely because while Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell or Al DiMeola grew up listening to jazz, the folks in the previously mentioned bands grew up well entrenched in the rock genre, which is bound to give one a different set of ears. And while most of the younger players on today’s jazz scene seemingly try to pretend that the rock, funk, soul and fusion years just didn’t happen, the guys in The Hue attack those other musical genres head on.

So, instead of fusion being a term defined as “jazz played too loud” or “rock played with pretty chords,” fusion can be described here as the pairing of jazz harmony and improvisation with rock aggression, crunch and style.

A big reason why The Hue sound as vibrant as they do is likely the fact that guitarists Jared Rabin and Marcus Rezak are both products of great jazz programs––Rabin at DePaul and Rezak at Berklee. Those kinds of pedigrees are going to leave their mark, and that mark is evident throughout Beyond Words. 

Bassist Kyle Myers keeps things grooving when they need to be grooving and does his part to be appropriately knotty when the Mahavishnu Orchestra-styled unison sections unfold. Drummer Brian Gilmanov is the true rock star here, pushing the band furiously with a combination of double bass patterns, single stroke rolls and sloshy hi-hats. 

Together, the combination is not unlike Return to Forever’s most excitable music with Bill Connors in the guitar chair.

Beyond Words kicks things off with a great tune called “Blackout.” It features some nifty studio trickery, panning the guitars of Rabin and Rezak before settling into a groove that has definite nods to the second edition of Tony Williams’ “Lifetime” (with Alan Holdsworth) and, amusingly, Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog”––the tag at the end of the melody clearly quotes the Zeppelin tune, turns it on its head and plays it against a handful of different beats before heading for the solos. Of the solos heard here, it is the drum solo which is the real attention getter. 

Gilmanov has done his homework on both the jazz and rock fronts, and that homework pays off in spades on the sixteen bars allotted to him.

“Igneous Pillow” might very well be my favorite song on Beyond Words. Pulling back quite a bit from the heights of “Blackout,” the guitar tones are beautiful, and the interplay between the two guitarists is fantastic. 

When they finally do kick it into high gear towards the end of the song the results are intoxicating, with shimmering runs and a unison run that is just fantastic. “Quiet Defiance” follows the same kind of formula, but with less success.

“Like Lines” might well be the most interesting song on the record, not because of what is accomplished during its five minutes, but because it proves the influence that Chicago based jam band Umphrey’s McGee has had upon their playing. The melody is immediately reminiscent of a couple of different UM songs, and the solo section could be ripped out of any number of their jams. 

This is not a bad thing, either. If a band in the fusion arena is going to make an attempt to sound like any rock band, Umphrey’s McGee is as good of a choice as any. The multi-sectioned nature of the song keeps it interesting and the solos on this one are by far the most melodic on the disc.

Beyond Words shows a band with a lot of promise to them. The Hue’s four members have obviously listened to and absorbed huge amounts of musical history, from jazz, rock and, well beyond. 

While there perhaps should have been more attention paid to the harmonic movement found in these songs, that will be a non-issue for the vast majority of the people that are going to be moved to check out this CD in the first place. For fans of the amazing bands on Chicago’s fusion and indie-jazz scenes, The Hue is a band to keep and eye (and an ear) on.


By: Paul Abella 

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