True Blue Jazz to present Fred Hughes Trio July 6

The Fred Hughes Trio will perform at the True Blue Jazz First Thursdays series at 7 p.m., July 6, at Nassau Valley Vineyards, Lewes.

A renowned jazz pianist, Hughes has delighted audiences in Rehoboth Beach for 30 years. With its origins in the jazz clubs of Washington, D.C., the Fred Hughes Trio has been performing, recording and presenting clinics and workshops since 1989.

With Hughes on piano, the current trio includes Paul Langosch on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums.

By age 25, Hughes had long been recognized as an up-and-coming conductor and world class jazz pianist for his work with the First Army Band, Fort Meade, Md., and the Eighth Army Band in Seoul, Korea. During the same period, Fred served as the rehearsal conductor and jazz coach for the MBC Pops Orchestra in Seoul.

He returned to his native Lancaster, Pa., in 1985 and performed throughout the eastern U.S. with his jazz trio, Alternative, before joining the United States Army’s premier touring jazz ensemble, the Jazz Ambassadors. As pianist and soloist for the Jazz Ambassadors, Hughes performed in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Europe and at such prestigious jazz festivals as the Newport, Montreux, Nice and North Sea.

Hughes can be heard on over 30 recordings, eight as band leader, and he has performed with the Baltimore and Chicago symphony orchestras as well as jazz greats Claudio Roditi, Al Cohn, Arturo Sandoval, Roy Hargrove, Bill Watrous and Toots Thielemans. As a conductor, he has directed the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Atlanta and Grand Rapids symphony orchestras, Washington and Chicago lyric opera orchestras and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was musical director for the Three Mo’ Tenors.

Langosch began his studies of the double bass in 1969, with Albert Webster of the National Symphony. He later continued private lessons with William Vaughan, also of the National Symphony. In addition to studying classical bass,  Langosch took lessons from the great jazz bassist, Ketter Betts. He has worked with many of the leaders in the jazz world including Phil Woods, Mose Allison, Johnny Hartman, Bud Shank, Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis. In 1985 Paul was invited by Tony Bennett to become a permanent member of his trio. His association with Bennett lasted over 20 years and included performances on 10 CDs, appearances on many television shows and specials. 

Monaghan is one of the busiest drummers in the Philadelphia area. After studying classical percussion for eight years, he went on to earn a bachelor of music in jazz studies from Temple University. Since then, he has performed with some of the top names in jazz, including Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, Uri Caine, and Randy Brecker. He has recorded with Dick Oatts, Garry Dial, Joe Magnarelli, Jimmy Bruno, Elio Villafranca, Joanna Pascale, John Vanore & Abstract Truth, Larry McKenna, and many others. Monaghan is on the faculty at Rowan and Temple universities, and is a frequent clinician at schools, colleges and festivals.

Tickets are $30. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for drinks and dinner service. A la carte dinner is available from Mermaid’s Kitchen. 

For more information, go to truebluejazz.org.