Tasq (the alan shearer quartet) is a 4 piece contemporary jazz line up based in Leeds. The quartet came together in 2007 and quickly established themselves on the local jazz scene, as well as successes further afield in the UK.

Russell Henderson, the oldest of the group, spent many years establishing himself on the Scottish jazz scene, most prominently in Edinburgh, having played with the majority of the respected and up-coming individuals in the city and regularly with Martin Zenker (of the Billy Hart Trio). Since moving to Leeds, Russell has been quick to make his mark and has performed recently with trumpeters Derek Watkins and Gerard Presencer. Russell has studied with players of a very high calibre and with greatly differing styles; Phil Bancroft, Joel Purnell, Ev Marcus and Martin Kershaw. This variety has heavily contributed to Russell’s very interesting sound.

Adam Hastings is a close friend of Henderson’s and this clearly comes through in their playing together.

Hastings began playing guitar at the age of 14 as a result of his love for The Beatles but quickly gravitated towards jazz and seemed to take to it very naturally. By the age of 15 he would begin playing regularly with a Newcastle jazz band lead by American trumpeter Dave Wiser and has since developed and established a respected reputation amongst the very healthy scene back in his native town. During these years Adam would also regularly record for theatre and television music, and even a eurovision entry, as well as playing in the pit for musicals such as “Joseph” and “Les Mis”. In 2007 Adam performed at the world renowned Vienne Jazz Festival during a tour with a jazz trio in france. Adam is currently enjoying studying under the brilliant guidance of Jamie Taylor.

Just as the relationship between Tasq’s sax and the guitar, this is just as evident in the connection between the bass and the drums with Sam Vicary and Dan Hayman being particularly good friends, making them the driving force behind the energy of Tasq’s music.

Sam is a self-taught player coming out of Cornwall who has a background in a variety of different styles but best showcases his talents within the jazz/fusion style, which over recent years he has somewhat devoted his endeavour to, whilst still ensuring his very solid playing is taken advantage of in the quickly rising, Leeds based funk and soul outfit, “The Average Height Band”. His study has been directed by well known bass player Zoltan Dekany. Sam has also been the regular bass player for the LCM (Leeds College of Music) band run by Ronnie Bottomley.

Dan Hayman began playing at the age of 15 and for two years he was classically trained and this provided him with the technique to quickly develop his talent for playing jazz and more mainstream musical styles. He would go on to be taught by Alan Bushell at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music and would also perform in the world premier of “Rain Land”. Dan also combines with Vicary providing the musical engine for “The Average Height Band”. Dan is now studying under Dave Walsh and recently performed in the sell-out concert for the Omar Puente Latin Big Band in Leeds.

Tasq's repertoire combines all of their individual influences, both from jazz and more popular styles, to create a unique sound that is both interesting and energetic. As well as the heritage of the jazz music they study and love, influences of reggae, 60s rock and roll, free improvised music and hip hop can be heard in both their original creations and in their arrangements of existing material. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.