MiDoyle's Full Review: Charlie Hunter by Charlie Hunter
With sound that is seemingly crossed between jazz and carnival music for the soul, Charlie Hunter is something of an original. He’s a purveyor of groove jazz, loosely defined as a funkified variation on the original. According to his web site [www.charliehunter.com], some critics call Hunter’s music acid jazz for lack of a better term. Hunter says this:
"I don't really know what acid jazz is," says Hunter. "Sometimes the press needs a term to advertise something. We sometimes get resistance from mainstream [jazz] critics who label us [acid jazz]. What we play is accessible but not as accessible as all that." Charlie dislikes the term so much, he created his own label for the music he plays; "antacid jazz."
"I like to think of what I do as improvisational-oriented pop music….”
Whatever you want to call Hunter’s music, mostly what “it” is is good grooves. Hunter explores the same territory as Medeski, Martin and Wood,Soulive and recent records of John Scofield. Where MMW depends on an organ/bass/drums and Soulive uses drums/guitar/organ for their jazz concoctions, Hunter matches Scofield’s funky guitar work with his own variation.
Hunter plays a specially built 8-string guitar (by Novax Guitars) that allows him to “funk it up” however he sees fit. The marriage of his thumb (bass) and other fingers (chords, melody) is really something else to hear. It puts a unique spin on the bottom and top of his sound.
Hunter also uses an interchangeable line-up of musicians in his groups, changing by the album. He’s highly prolific, with eight records to his credit in the past 5-6 years.
Charlie Hunter is his new release, a self-titled album released on Blue Note records in 2000. It is co-produced by Hunter and Joe Ferla. The personnel include his longtime stalwart Leon Parker on drums and percussion, Stephen Chopek with more percussion and Robert Perkins with still more percussion. Peter Apfelbaum plays tenor sax, and Josh Roseman plays trumpet.
Hunter wanted the percussion set-up because he wanted “…a little distance from the drum kit….explore the wall-of-percussion possibilities to get that big, wide-open sound with a lot of groove.”
Tracks
1. Rendezvous Avec La Verite (6:37)
2. Two for Bleu (5:39)
3. Al Green (5:39)
4. Nothin’ But Trouble (6:33)
5. Cloud Splitter (4:01)
6. Epistrophy [T. Monk/K. Clarke] (3:41)
7. Flau Flau (5:56)
8. Dersu (a slight return) (5:14)
9. Someday We’ll All Be Free [D. Hathaway/D. Howard] (4:55)
Album Highlights Rendezvous Avec La Verite has a great groove from the beginning with a somewhat unsettling bottom murmur. Nothin’ But Trouble is a real throwback number. It has a decidedly beat/swing thing going on and is one of the more successful tracks here. It instantly attracts the ear.
Cloud Splitter has a little different guitar sound, sort of picking tone, as if a cat is walking over the strings. It has more of a throwback sound with a suppressed saxophone shaping the melody.
Epistrophy is an album highlight, performed by Hunter/Parker with a percussion element that serves the arrangement well. It has a solid groove to it and some expressive soling by Hunter.
The tone gets melancholy with the slow blues tinge of Flau Flau, something straight out of New Orleans territory, with some solid blues playing by Hunter.
Someday We’ll All Be Free is the best on the album. A solo guitar piece, it features a perfectly nuanced Beatlesque opening by Hunter and is a pure ballad.
Some Mixed Results Two for Bleu and Al Green failed to really excite my ears. The groove seems a little forced on these numbers like perhaps the musical idea never reached full consensus.
Hunter reconstitutes Dersu (a slight return) from his Ready Set Shango album with Parker and gives it a funkier vibe from its earlier ballad status.
Still ... A Solid Album Charlie Hunter was an enjoyable album for me, but it is one that will take some getting use to for most listeners. This is an album that will grow on the listener over repeated listening and I give it 3 stars. It’s fails to reach classic status but it’s a solid album and sure to please fans of newer jazz sounds or a young guitar player on your gift list.
Cat Rating Scale Freddie hung around for most of the album and then decided to nap on the heater. Chester was intrigued by the sounds emanating from the speakers but possibly thought there was a mouse behind the cover. When assured that no rodent was available, he promptly set about looking for other edibles. Two paws down.
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