Band Plays it Cool on the Comeback

ONE of the Hunter's finest jazz exports of the late 1980s, THE COOL DUDES, is continuing to press ahead with a low-key comeback this year. The four-piece band will perform at a sellout Lake Macquarie cruise aboard the Wangi Queen on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon will play the Tarro Hotel from 4pm until 7pm. The producer of the group's 1988 ARIA-nominated CD CECILY WATERS said any whisper of a Cool Dudes gig still resulted in a rush of long-standing fans. 'When they hear the Cool Dudes are playing there's always a rush to the gigs,' she said. The former manager of the band, and weekend presenter on 2NUR-FM, Waters organised Saturday's cruise as a fundraiser for the community FM radio station where she is a volunteer. Tickets to a follow-up April cruise are available by phoning 2NUR-FM during office hours on 4921-5555. Members of the Cool Dudes are TREVOR FURNER on reeds, GREG HENSHAW on bass and vocals, TERRY WIDDOWSON on keyboards and PETER YOUNG on drums. The quartet performs mainstream interpretations of jazz standards. A self-titled album, released through the Charlestown-based SANDSTOCK record label in 1988, earned the Cool Dudes an ARIA nomination. TE