Biography
A band for the decades this group, some of Atlanta's finest musicians, will bring down the house entertaining your dancing guests with one hit after another with tunes going way back...
GWEN & THE ‘KATS
“My objective has always been to have a band that enjoys each other,” says Gwen Hughes. “It makes the audience enjoy the band that much more…and it makes the music even better.” Her point is enthusiastically supported by Gloria Stuchlik, formerly of the Emory Conference Center: “When the band broke into “In the Mood,” I think I even saw a waiter dancing! The shouts of “Encore!” I heard at the end of the evening lead me to believe everyone enjoyed the evening as much as I did.”
This is the rare band that brings together the deep-pocket swing of the 1930s and 1940s and contemporary beats like Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk” and Lizzo’s “Juice!” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution flatly states: “Gwen Hughes was swinging before swinging was cool.”
A veteran on the Southeast music scene, Gwen is one of the busiest bandleaders in Atlanta, along the way being named “Favorite Jazz Artist” by the readers of Creative Loafing magazine and taking her act overseas to France, Eastern Europe and Turkey. The rest of the “Kats” are equally impressive: Jez Graham on keyboards; LA Tuten on bass; Michael Hoskin on saxophone; Marty Martin on trumpet; Wes Funderburk on trombone; and Mike Hinton is the faithful backbeat on the drums. Collectively, these players (and Gwen) have about a century of experience between them, playing all over the world, for the last (4) Olympic Games and professional clients in such diverse locales as the Cayman Islands to New York City.
While Gwen is known for her singing, she is also an accomplished pianist, frequently playing and singing in the band.
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