Issue No. 2

Charlie Hunter
Thomas D. Williams

Charlie Hunter is a groove monster. When he comes through town he leaves behind a trail of dancing hippies, head nodding music connoisseurs and studious jazz fascist wallflowers. He is both an invigorating songwriter and intriguing instrumentalist using his signature 8-string guitar/bass combo to stir up almost anyone's musical fancy.

Last year, Charlie notched 3 new releases for his catalog. Oddly enough, there's a strong possibility of more. With so much going on it's a wonder he gets to sleep and eat like a normal person, but the workhorse Hunter remains casual about his work ethic.

"Well, it wasn't planned or anything, I just worked with a bunch of people and I think it just came together. I got this thing with my own group and I also have this thing with Bobby Previte where we add a third person. And then there's this group Garage A Trois I'm in and all these groups just recorded this year. It just came together."

Seemingly unafraid to attack almost any sound, style, or artist his list of covered songs is amazingly disparate, including rock songs such as Nirvana's "Come As You Are," Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle" and Roxy Music's "More Than This." His early project T.J. Kirk was a triple dose of guitars injected into a hodgepodge of songs from the catalogs of Thelonious Monk, James Brown and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Charlie truly gets at the emotional content of other great songs by R&B artists Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. Probably most well known, there was his quartet's jazzy tribute to Bob Marley's entire Natty Dread album.

"…it should just kind of be natural and organic. With the Marley thing, that was just fun to do because everyone knows the material, especially people in my generation who grew up with that. The Steve Miller thing was…I just love that tune and we were messing around with that tune and we decided that it just has such a cool groove that we recorded it. I just think conceptually it wasn't well thought out. But….I just like stuff that has a certain resonance to it."

Almost as diverse as the songs he's covered are the people that come to his shows. One look around the crowd reveals more than a couple of stoned dancing neo-hippies standing beside excited and adventurous music fans of all sorts (big ones, small ones, yuppies, and, well, a smidgen more of those dancing neo-hippies). There's even a few bewildered people there to confirm, with their own eyes, a man playing bass and guitar, rhythm and lead, at the same time. It seems Mr. Hunter's music, and most notably his live shows, attracts all walks of life.

"Well I think ultimately the fact is that I play an instrument which essentially is a guitar, and I don't go for real guitar sound, I don't think. I have those electric guitar sounds but yet I try to use jazz vocabulary with it. So when people hear that, who wouldn't usually listen to horn players or acoustic bass or whatnot, hear that and say 'I know that sound,' that kind of gives them a window into the music. So the vocabulary might not be familiar but they know the sound."

Still, Charlie concedes some of his popularity may come from some of his covers. "When you talk about getting the younger people into the music, well there's a whole thing about doing those Marley tunes because they know that music. There's already a foundation." And a foundation this strong can't possibly topple anytime soon.

Charlie Hunter's live show is an amazing sight to behold. Transcending simple jazz or blues he covers so much ground with such ease it is astonishing. Always surrounded with top-notch musicians there can be no letdown - only the rise of emotions that great music brings. So after you get over the awe-inspiring display of dexterity, close your eyes and let the music do what it does so well…move you.

A unique artist, who happens to use a unique instrument, creating a unique voice in jazz music deserves unique journalism. MagnaPhone defines prolifery as a dumbfounding combination of activity and artistry.

Take a moment to admire the Prolifery Of Charlie Hunter:

	Charlie Hunter Right Now Live DVD Ropeadope Records could not release a better tool for creating new Charlie Hunter fans. It's hard to ignore the ability he has once you actually see it. Two of the four solo songs that open the disc are funky exercises in dexterity (Stevie Wonder's "Too High" and his own "Recess.") Mr. Hunter's bluesy solo rendition of Donnie Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" is successful in making an emotional statement with the eight-string guitar/bass. Charlie's quintet features Gregoire Maret (chromatic harmonica), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), John Ellis (tenor sax), and Derek Phillips on drums; the same line-up for last years Right Now Move album. Charlie always gives his fellow players a lot of room for personal expression in his songs, and this is no exception. Those that are fascinated with the 8-stringer can choose a camera option to keep the focus on the guitar/bass. The DVD is broken up with animated title screens lending a track-to-track album feel. This is a showpiece of Charlie Hunter and his 8-string guitar/bass skills and not a true representation of Charlie's live show; no one was dancing!
	Charlie Hunter Friends Seen and Unseen John Ellis (saxophone) and Derek Phillips (drums) are the friends seen. The friends unseen are magical creatures actually playing the instruments. The music made is a wondrous experience, and you should expect no less from a Charlie Hunter album. "Lulu" is the second of two sultry jazz tunes, and she is one dynamite muse. Emotional and provocative, the trio combines to create a sassy number. "Running In Fear From Imaginary Assailants" churns through, tripping over its feet (as one tends to do when looking really hard behind for hard-to-see assailants) but picking itself up to run again. "Darkly" features John Ellis on flute creating another mystical journey (quite possibly involving a small man with goat's legs). "Eleven Bars for Gandhi" is a beautiful tribute to the pastor of pacifism. Each of the ten songs makes a strong case for the listener's imagination and attention.
	Groundtruther Latitude Latitude is part one of what looks to be an interesting trilogy by Charlie Hunter (8-string guitar/bass) and Bobby Previte (electronic drums.) Greg Osby (tenor sax) is the first of the 3 three special guests. Bobby's use of electronic drums ensures this will not sound like your grandfather's jazz. Almost completely improvised and played live, this is a unique experience, even for the musicians involved. "North Pole" sets the tone for the album: expect nothing. Previte's backwards-masked drums, distant horns and a sparse, dark Hunter melody create a suspense movie soundtrack. The album continues all over the musical map taking sojourns in acid jazz ("Arctic Circle" and 40th Parallel"), drum and bass ("Tropic Of Cancer" and "Tropic of Capricorn") and more cinematic backdrops a la "North Pole." Thirsty Ear Recordings has another progressive jazz masterpiece on its hands.
For more info, visit www.CharlieHunter.com.