By TIM ARSENAULT -- Dartmouth-based musician John Chiasson is a man of many talents.

Music fans might recognize him as the bass player for the last five years in the Rankin Family band.

He also has a photography business and his work adorned the cover of the Rankin Family EP The Grey Dusk of Eve.

Now Chiasson steps out entirely from a backing musical role with the release of his independent album Here In The Moonlight.

The recording may not be what Rankin Family fans would expect. Except for the original title track - a song Chiasson wrote with guitarist George Antoniak - the CD is a collection of sensitively arranged standards such as Stardust, Misty and My Foolish Heart.

Chiasson plays bass and guitar on the record but also reveals himself to be something of a smooth old-fashioned, straight-ahead crooner in the lead vocal department.

"Mostly, I'm a back-up guy and you get comfortable doing that," Chiasson says in an interview.

So, with the encouragement of Rankin Family drummer Scott Ferguson, who plays on the album and co-produced it with Chiasson, he decided to shake things up a little bit.

Though this side of his talents may be new to the public, it has deep roots for Chiasson.

"My mom played that kind of stuff around the house. I just took to it, I guess," he says.

Here In The Moonlight was recorded at The Centre for Art Tapes in Halifax, a facility perhaps better known for more experimental fare than God Bless The Child.

"It was the cheap way to go," Chiasson said. "I became a member there after doing a project with a couple of other guys."

Among the friends helping out was Raylene Rankin, who lends her vocal talent to Misty.

"We were on the road in Hollywood with the Rankin Family and we started talking about me doing an album like this and she said, 'Gosh, would I ever like to do something like that.'"

(Raylene has just released a Christmas album with sisters Heather and Cookie, and Chiasson says such projects may keep the group fresh. "I think they'll always do the Rankin Family thing and if they can do other things, too, that's probably better for everybody.")

Chiasson's thing, though brand new, has already generated an encouraging response.

"I'm pretty psyched about it," he says.

"I've been getting good feedback."

His photographs also adorn the package, from a stock shot of the Moon to a panorama of the New York City skyline inside the CD booklet.

Chiasson says that photography started out as a hobby and "it became kind of a profession. These days, you gotta stay busy."