Charlie Hunter, the dexterous eight-string guitarist who produces a dazzling array of sounds, brings his trio to the Boulder Theater Tuesday along with bassist Christian McBride and his band plus drummer Bobby Previte for an evening’s worth of improvisation and exchange of ideas. The show, assembled by Hunter’s label, Ropeadope, is billed as “What Is Jazz?”
So, what is “jazz” to Hunter?
“The answer is ‘Rashomon,”‘ Hunter tells me after considering the question for a while, referring to the cinematic landmark directed by Akira Kurosawa where the same story is recounted from various points of view.
“Jazz is centered around Louis Armstrong and his cohorts,” says Hunter. “After the Depression, everything is a subset.
“I don’t have an agenda anymore about being accepted as ‘jazz.’ For people in their 20s, do they even know what it is? It’s funny, the idea of jazz is no longer important to me in my day-to-day life. Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Thelonious Monk and Jimi Hendrix or Hank Williams, it all occupies that same exciting space.”
Hunter, on the cusp of 40, represents a generation of musicians who pick and choose from (and revel in) the cultural bombardment in which they grew up, creating music that’s rooted in improvisation but ultimately can’t be given any one name. By choosing to play the eight-string guitar instead of the standard six-string, Hunter is even harder to pigeonhole.
“It is an entirely different instrument,” he says of the eight-string. “It’s a six-string and a bass, and it occupies a huge amount of space in the music, with lots of counterpoint happening.”
While this may sound technical or academic, enjoying Hunter’s skillfully rendered web of melody and harmony is easy, even if the eight-string hasn’t yet caught on in the musical community at large.
“I’m not really accepted by the guitar publications because nobody’s playing the instrument, and the music I play doesn’t lend itself to that crowd.”
Hunter has released an imposing amount of music lately, including releases with his own trio, the duo Groundtruther (with Previte) and as a member of T.J. Kirk, a project formed to pay tribute to spirits as disparate as Monk, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and James Brown.
“We wanted to call the group James T. Kirk, but Paramount wouldn’t let us,” says Hunter. (Paramount controls the rights to things Star Trek-related, so they were forced to alter the group’s name.)
Exposure through these groups should soon lead to the wider public discovery of Hunter’s unique talent and sound. Even though he hasn’t achieved the level of recognition he certainly deserves, he seems more amused than concerned.
“I could go into pretty much any guitar store and nobody would know who I am,” he says with a laugh.
Considering that he’s one of the finest eight-string (or six-string, for that matter) guitar slingers walking the planet, Hunter won’t likely go unrecognized much longer.
“What is Jazz?” featuring the Charlie Hunter Trio, Christian McBride Band, DJ Logic and Bobby Previte, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, at the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. 21 and over, $21.50. Call 303-786-7030.
Set list
Singer Kathy Kosins appears at Dazzle tonight, and pianist Ralph Sharon, who logged decades on the road in support of Tony Bennett, pays tribute to composer Irving Berlin at Dazzle on Wednesday … vocalist Andy Bey entertains at the Mount Vernon Country Club Wednesday … Mark Diamond is joined by Rich Chiarluce at the Robusto Room Saturday … the 36th annual UNC Jazz Festival features the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Cedar Walton, Steve Turre, the New York Voices and more in Greeley April 20-22 … farewell to one of the towering figures of the alto saxophone, Jackie McLean, whose name graced many a swinging, forward-thinking recording session. He died March 31 at 74.
Bret Saunders’ column on jazz appears every other Sunday in A&E. Saunders is host of the “KBCO Morning Show,” 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays at 97.3-FM. His e-mail address is bret_saunders@hotmail.com.
