Charlie Hunter

[RainyDay]

I saw him on Thursday night at Yoshi's and was unprepared to see someone playing bass and guitar simlutaneously. A friend has been telling me for years that I just had to see him but I'm not familiar with his work. He was hot last week. LOTS of blues in the music. I bought his Steady Groovin which I don't love. It's okay but some of it is a little smooth sounding and not the intricate work I heard last week. The music he's playing now is going to be out on CD next year. I'm getting that one for sure. His horn player played the baritone clarinet, which I don't think I've seen played before. Interesting. Very good on tenor. Drummer was smoking.

They killed.

[Chris D]

He's an intriguing live performer, but the goods haven't transferred to disc very well. I liked his mid-'90s trio record "Bing, Bing, Bing." Sometimes he comes across as gimmicky on record. Of all the mostly lame "re-recordings" Blue Note had artists do in the late '90s -- like Fareed Haque doing CSNY's "Deja Vu" -- Hunter's "Natty Dread" worked the best for me.

[Pete C]

Hunter's regular drummer is very good. I still haven't seen Hunter's duets with my old friend Bobby Previte.

[RainyDay]

Originally Posted by Chris D

Hunter's "Natty Dread" worked the best for me.

This is the one I almost bought and now I wished I had. I was in a place that doesn't have much jazz (shocked to see they had any Charlie Hunter) and too rushed to get to Berkeley for a more serious investigation into his work.

That's interesting to hear his live work is better. He's so amazing live. I will just have to make a point to see him whenever he's in the area. Very impressive style. He kicks blues in the butt.

[RainyDay]

Originally Posted by David Gitin

When I caught Charlie Hunter on Saturday night at Yoshi's, he said it was his 13th night in a row, but the band sounded fine (I had last seen them at the Monterey Jazz Festival over a year ago), John Ellis in particular.

Has John Ellis played recently with someone else, maybe at Yoshi's? It seems I've seen him in the last year with someone else.

[John B]

Charlie allows taping of his gigs and has given permission for the live recordings to be hosted online here .

If you have a fast connection there are 73 shows to choose from, which should give you a good handle on which albums you might want to explore based on the tunes he is playing at the time.

[Pete C]

Hunter has a pretty young following. Was the average age lower than usual at Yoshi's?

[RainyDay]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Hunter has a pretty young following. Was the average age lower than usual at Yoshi's?

A lot younger and a very noisey. Nonstop yakking during the whole set.

[Ron Thorne]

I had the pleasure of hearing Charlie Hunter and his band in Anchorage a few years ago (2001?) and had a blast. Though everything wasn't exactly to my liking, I found him very interesting and provocative, musically. His style wasn't nearly as gimmicky as I'd imagined.

Afterward, I had a very pleasant exchange with Charlie and drummer Stephen Chopek, both of whom were very engaging and genuine-feeling. Chopek had recently been studying with New Yorker Leon Parker. His minimalistic drum/percussion setup was very intriguing, and gave me lots of ideas, some of which I'm employing with a trio I'm rehearsing with at the moment.



Stephen Chopek

Originally Posted by Chris D

He's an intriguing live performer, but the goods haven't transferred to disc very well.

Very much agree with this.
I used to see him quite often when he was still living in the Bay Area. He'd come down the coast every two months or so, with Scott Amendola and Jenny Scheinmann, Dave Ellis, and others, and they would set the room on fire. I've not loved his discs. Probably like the Groundtruther ones the best (Bobby Previte, Greg Osby, and then DJ Logic in place of Osby). But he can play, and is always with great musicians. I'd see him live any time I had the chance.

[gnhrtg]

Originally Posted by John B

Charlie allows taping of his gigs and has given permission for the live recordings to be hosted online here .

If you have a fast connection there are 73 shows to choose from, which should give you a good handle on which albums you might want to explore based on the tunes he is playing at the time.

Thanks for that, John.

[Henry Mars]

I got to give Charlie credit for trying to break the mold. I like some of the stuff I have heard. He makes it interesting for some of us old farts that have been doing it the same way for the last 45 years. He has a gimick, but a very cool one.

[Kevin L]

Hunter's ability to play guitar and bass lines at the same time is no gimmick. It just means he has one less band member to pay.

[Juju]

I agree the studio recordings haven't accurately caught the best of his live stuff (he's come through my area a few times), but fwiw, I really dig "Ready, Set, Shango!" (props go to the late Calder Spanier on sax) and "The Candyman" (props to Stephone Harris on vibes). Good music to put on for socializing with friends.

[rollhead]

Originally Posted by RainyDay

Has John Ellis played recently with someone else, maybe at Yoshi's? It seems I've seen him in the last year with someone else.

Ellis has his own group. Jason Marsalis - drums, John Ellis - saxophone, Roland Guerin - bass, Robert Glasper - piano.

If anyone cares, Ellis came in second to Seamus Blake in the 2002 Theloneous Monk Sax competition.

I am a fan of Charlie Hunter, too. He plays a guitar that he helped design and was made by Ralph Novax. It has 8 strings -- three bass strings and five guitar strings.
http://www.novaxguitars.com/
I would like to try one of those things, but I have trouble enough with six strings.

Since Novax started making the 8-stringers, a few people have taken them up, including a friend of mine -- Kate Schutt.
http://www.kateschutt.com/

[rollhead]

Then there is Garage A Trois
http://www.garageatrois.com/

[Mike Schwartz]

I enjoyed Ellis' CD released earlier this year, and he did come through the Bay Area at both Yoshi's & Kuumbwa

[groover]

Originally Posted by rollhead

I am a fan of Charlie Hunter, too. He plays a guitar that he helped design and was made by Ralph Novax. It has 8 strings -- three bass strings and five guitar strings.
http://www.novaxguitars.com/
I would like to try one of those things, but I have trouble enough with six strings.

Actually, he does make six-string versions, in addition to the bass-guitar hybrid that Hunter uses.

I'd love to try one of those and see how it feels to truly be able to play in tune!

[RainyDay]

Originally Posted by rollhead

Ellis has his own group. Jason Marsalis - drums, John Ellis - saxophone, Roland Guerin - bass, Robert Glasper - piano.

If anyone cares, Ellis came in second to Seamus Blake in the 2002 Theloneous Monk Sax competition.

I am a fan of Charlie Hunter, too. He plays a guitar that he helped design and was made by Ralph Novax. It has 8 strings -- three bass strings and five guitar strings.

I realize I'm confusing his name (not him or his playing) with Dave Ellis, who I saw last summer. An eight string guitar. That's interesting. It took me one whole song to figure out what I was hearing and I kept looking for the pedal or whatever was making the bass sound. Hunter is a gas.

[gonzo]

plays 6 string with groundtruther, his trio w/ bobby previte and various guests.

[Juju]

Anyone heard Charlie with his old band T.J. Kirk?

Not for the purists, mind you, but funky and fun music.

Originally Posted by Juju

Anyone heard Charlie with his old band T.J. Kirk?

Not for the purists, mind you, but funky and fun music.

Yes, and I loved them. Much fun live, musicians with chops!