THE beautiful moan of a percussive organ gently bleeds into familiarly sounding, laid-back jazz. Eventually, the lyrics start.

"Well there ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe, if you don't know by now."

What the...? Bob Dylan done as jazz? Isn't that blasphemy? Don't they have laws for this sort of thing?

What the hell does former pop star Curtis Stigers think he's playing at?

But then you give it a minute, and you realise, 'hey, this isn't half bad'."

And it doesn't stop with Dylan. Stigers has made jazz out of unlikely hits such as I Feel Fine by the Beatles and Tired of Waiting For You by the Kinks.

Seems quite a diversion for someone who is usually associated with smooth sax rock hits All that Matters, I Wonder Why and Peace Love and Understanding from The Bodyguard soundtrack.

So far, the interview wasn't going well.

The hotel staff were adamant that Stigers did not exist and keenly suggested I might want to interview Brian Sturges.

I suspected Brian's knowledge about Stigers' forthcoming date at Huntingdon Hall and the album You Inspire Me might be somewhat lacking, so a I gracefully declined.

Much keyboard clicking and tutting later, I'm finally talking to the American musician.

"I've been re-inventing myself my whole life," he says.

"This is my third jazz record but this is still a reinvention since I was last in the public eye three years ago, although the public eye is smaller than it used to be for me. But that's the price you pay for doing music that isn't so commercial."

Jazz is where Stigers began as a young musician and this is a return to his roots to perform the music he really wants to be playing.

He sat at the feet, or more accurately in the recording studio, of jazz pianist Gene Harris who retired to Stigers' hometown of Boise, Idaho.

"Boise isn't the sort of place jazz legends retire to," he said.

"He was a genuine professional music role model, and a jazz legend to boot. You don't often get that growing up in a small town.

"He taught me that music is always about what you love and how you put yourself into it."

Little surprise then that Stigers has now returned to his musical love and roots.

"I realised jazz is what I needed to be doing," he said.

The choice of covers for his album also comes from a long-standing passion for the original songs.

"The reason I chose them varies but they all have an emotion and people feel affected by them.

"I've always loved I Feel Fine and that lick it's got. So often you hear people do Michelle or Something and the obvious ballads. I wanted something that would be a bit more old-school jazz."

For the last track, Stigers returns to a more traditional jazz number with Irving Berlin's Blue Skies. But there is still a twist in the tale.

"It's such a perfect song, we take it for granted," he said.

This will be Stigers' third visit to Huntingdon Hall, and he says he enjoys touring on this side of the Atlantic because he has a stronger fan base over here than back in the States.

"Huntingdon Hall is such a fantastic and beautiful place to play. It's a jewel. You've got the audience right up there with you, not like some huge concert hall."

Curtis Stigers will be at Huntingdon Hall on Tuesday, October 7, at 8pm.

Tickets are £16, concessions £14.50, from the box office on 01905 611427.

By David Lewins.