As Grady Harp writes on Amazon Music: “Not only does Gwen Hughes have an exceptional voice by anybody’s standards, but she surpasses that magnificent gift with the manner in which she makes her terrific songs communicate.” Gwen has produced music with a diverse set of musicians, from John Driskell Hopkins (The Zac Brown Band) to Drew Young (Putumayo Records) to Khari Simmons (India.Arie).

“I love to write songs,” says Gwen, “but my favorite challenge is taking a song everyone knows one way and presenting it another way, deconstructing and rebuilding it.” Her new releases, the Jazz Hymn projects, showcase this desire to reinvent classic church hymns in the jazz framework. The hymns become bossa novas like “This is My Father’s World” (In the Garden: Jazz Hymns for Easter), uptempo swing like “Now Thank We All Our God” (We Gather Together: Jazz Hymns for Thanksgiving) and even a surprising vocal-upright bass duet on “Doxology” (also Thanksgiving).

“We made a film about the “why hymns?,” because they aren’t the first thing that comes to mind for a jazz project,” smiles Gwen. “I sang all of these songs growing up – and I hated them! So tedious. But the people who wrote them didn’t intend them to be ‘boring.’ No song should ever be seen that way. So, me and the band set out to breathe new life into these songs that exist under the title “hymns.”

Gwen Hughes has toured in 15 countries all over the world, from Paris to Nairobi. The former Ambassador to Slovenia, Joseph Mussomeli, proclaims: “As a performer and a person, Gwen is a delight, and the music that pours–actually, gushes–from her band is stirring and refreshing.” The US State Department sponsored two tours of the band through Eastern Europe.

As an actor, Gwen also has appeared on television, most recently on Donald Glover’s “Atlanta,” as well as appearances on “Hightown” (Starz), “Stand Against Evil” (IFC) and “My Wife’s Hidden Lover” (Lifetime) and several Tyler Perry projects.

Offstage, Gwen was a 10-year Board Governor with The Recording Academy, a Johnny Mercer “Artist in Residence” with the GA Music Hall of Fame and instructor for The Otis Redding Foundation Songwriter Camp. She is also an advocate for music education all over the world, working with students of all ages in the US, Morocco, Kenya, Slovenia, and France.

Recently, Gwen was cast in the production of Stephen King and John Mellencamp’s Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, with music production by T-Bone Burnette. The show toured nationally for 2 years.

More info: www.gwenhughes.com

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