Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, and melodies. Critic Sean Westergaard described Hunter's technique as "mind-boggling...he's an agile improviser with an ear for great tone, and always has excellent players alongside him in order to make great music, not to show off." Hunter's technique is rooted in the styles of jazz guitarists

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

and Tuck Andress, two of his biggest influences, who blended bass notes with melody in a way that created the illusion of two guitars.

Biography

A native of Rhode Island, Hunter was around guitars at an early age because his mother repaired them for a living. He and his mother and sister lived for several years on a commune in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

, California, then settled in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

. Hunter attended Berkeley High School and took lessons from rock guitarist

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

. At eighteen he moved to Paris. He has stated that busking in Paris gave him on the job training. Returning to San Francisco, he played

seven-string guitar The seven-string guitar adds one additional string to the more common six-string guitar, commonly used to extend the bass range (usually a low B) or also to extend the treble range. The additional string is added in one of two different ways: by ...

and organ in Michael Franti's political rap group,

The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy were an American hip-hop musical ensemble, active during the early 1990s. The band was formed in 1990 by Michael Franti (vocals, production, misc. instruments) and Rono Tse (drums, percussion, programming), wh ...

. In 1992, they were one of the opening acts for U2's

Zoo TV Tour The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album '' Achtung Baby'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 to 1993. It was intended to mirror ...

. On his debut album, ''

Charlie Hunter Trio Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

'' (1993), he played seven-string guitar with Dave Ellis on saxophone and

Jay Lane Jay Lane (born December 5, 1964) is an American drummer. He is a founding member of Bob Weir's RatDog, with Weir and Rob Wasserman, Wolf Bros, Furthur, Golden Gate Wingmen and Alphabet Soup. He was the 7th drummer to play in Primus, playing ...

on drums. On the next album, ''

Bing, Bing, Bing! ''Bing, Bing, Bing!'' is a 1995 album by jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter. This was his first album for the Blue Note Records and features his eight-string guitar. The cover is an homage to Horace Parlan's 1960 album, ''Speakin' My Piece''. The neo ...

'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 1995), he played an

eight-string guitar An eight-string guitar is a guitar with eight strings, or one more than the Russian guitar's seven. Eight-string guitars are less common than six- and seven-string guitars, but they are used by a few classical, jazz, and metal guitarists. The e ...

custom built by Ralph Novak. In the 1990s, Hunter played in the band T. J. Kirk, which got its name from three musicians whose music it covered:

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, and

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year ...

. The band released two albums before breaking up. Hunter co-founded

Garage a Trois Garage A Trois is an American jazz quartet including drummer Stanton Moore, saxophonist Skerik, vibraphone and percussionist Mike Dillon and keyboardist Marco Benevento. They play a variety of music including rock, funk and jazz. History Gar ...

, a jazz fusion band with

Stanton Moore Stanton Moore (born July 9, 1972) is an American funk, jazz, and rock drummer from New Orleans. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also pursued a solo recording career (beginning with his 1998 debut ''All Kooked Out! ...

and

Skerik Skerik is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, he is a pioneer in a playing style that has been called saxophonics. He is a founding member of Critt ...

, and Groundtruther with

Bobby Previte Bobby Previte (born July 16, 1951 in Niagara Falls, New York) is a drummer, composer, and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began ...

. In the summer of 2007, he toured in a trio with keyboardist Erik Deutsch and drummer Simon Lott and recorded the album ''Mistico'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, 2007). He performed on three songs on

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

's album ''

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

'' (2000), including "

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

". He has stated that the session for the song was the most challenging session he has worked on. He was an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.

Equipment

Hunter plays a custom seven-string guitar made by Jeff Traugott. Previously, Hunter played a custom-made, eight-string guitar made by

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

Ralph Novak of Novax Guitars. He played chords and lead guitar solos on the bottom five strings (tuned ADGBE), and simultaneously played bass lines on the top three strings (tuned EAD). With the addition of a Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere (a

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

rotary speaker simulator), his unique style produced a sound similar to that of a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

—an instrument he set out to imitate. In 2006, Hunter removed the top guitar string and had the neck of his guitar reworked and now plays a modified 7-string on the formerly-8 string body. Hunter has mentioned that because of his small hands, he had to move out of position to make use of the 8th string and thus wasn't using it much. A change in Hunter's style away from the organ sound into a more blues and distortion based sound happened at the same time. After removing the 8th string, Hunter retuned all of the strings up a half step: F-Bb-Eb on the bass and Bb-Eb-Ab-C on the guitar. As of 2008, he had once again retuned up another whole step: G-C-F on the bass and C-F-Bb-D on the guitar.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''

'' (

Prawn Song Prawn Song Records is an independent record label owned by Les Claypool of Primus. The name and logo are a parody of Led Zeppelin's label Swan Song Records. Prawn Song is based in San Francisco, California, and distribution is handled by RED Dis ...

, 1993) * ''

'' (

, 1995) * ''Ready...Set...Shango!'' (Blue Note, 1996) * ''Natty Dread'' (Blue Note, 1997) * ''Return of the Candyman'' (with Pound for Pound) (Blue Note, 1998) * ''Duo'' (with

Leon Parker Leon Parker (born August 21, 1965 in White Plains, New York) is a jazz percussionist and composer.All Music/ref> He is known for occasionally using a minimalist drum set with fewer components than usual, "sometimes consisting only of a snare dru ...

) (Blue Note, 1999) * ''Charlie Hunter'' (Blue Note, 2000) * ''Solo Eight-String Guitar'' (Contra Punto, 2000) * ''Songs from the Analog Playground'' (Blue Note, 2001) * ''Right Now Move'' ( Ropeadope, 2003) * ''Come in Red Dog, This is Tango Leader'' (with

) (Ropeadope, 2003) * ''Friends Seen and Unseen'' (Ropeadope, 2004) * ''Earth Tones'' (with

Earl "Chinna" Smith Earl "Chinna" Smith (born 6 August 1955), a.k.a. Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest,Johnson, Richard (2013)The Melchizedek way, ''Jamaica Observer'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013 is a Jamaican guitarist active since the late ...

and

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One (record label), Studio One and I ...

) (Green Street, 2005) * ''Copperopolis'' (Ropeadope, 2006) * ''Mistico'' (

, 2007) * '' Baboon Strength'' (reapandsow, 2008) * '' Gentlemen, I Neglected to Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid'' (Spire/reapandsow, 2009) * ''

Public Domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

'' (2010) * '' Not Getting Behind Is the New Getting Ahead'' (with

Scott Amendola Scott Amendola (born February 6, 1969) is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.Andrew Gilbert"Exploring New Degrees In Drumming" ''sfgate.com'', October 3, 2004. Amendola is origi ...

) (2012) * ''

Pucker Pucker is a line of fruit-flavored liqueurs made by the DeKuyper company. By volume it is 15% alcohol (30 proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a meas ...

'' (with

) (2013) * '' Cars/Williams/Porter/Ellington'' (with

) (2014) * '' Dionne Dionne'' (with

Dionne Farris Dionne Yvette Farris (born December 4, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in New Jersey, she began singing in elementary school and competed in pageants as a teenager. In the early 1990s, she was featured on t ...

) (Free & Clear, 2014) * '' Let the Bells Ring On'' (There, 2015) * '' We Two Kings: Charlie Hunter and Bobby Previte Play the Great Carols'' (with

) (Rank Hypocrisy, 2015) * '' Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth'' ( GroundUP, 2016) * '' Charlie Hunter/Carter McLean Featuring Silvana Estrada'' (with Carter McLean and

Silvana Estrada Silvana Estrada (born April 15, 1997) is a Mexican musician and songwriter. She has released three albums, including two with collaboration from musician Charlie Hunter. Additionally, she has worked with artists like Natalia Lafourcade, Caloncho, A ...

) (2018) * ''Music! Music! Music!'' (with

Lucy Woodward Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has recorded for Atlantic Records, Atlantic, Verve Records, Verve, and GroundUP Music, GroundUP and has sung background vocals for Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Di ...

) (2019) * ''Charlie Hunter/Carter McLean Volume One'' (with Carter McLean) (2020) * ''Avant Blues'' (with

) (2020) * ''I'm a Stranger Here'' (with Lucy Woodward) (2021) * ''Sam Fribush Organ Trio Vol. 1 Riverboat'' (2021) * ''Sam Fribush Organ Trio Vol. 2 The Root'' (2021) * ''Kick, Snare, Baritone Guitar'' (Side Hustle Records, 2021) With Groundtruther * ''Latitude'' (

Thirsty Ear Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 1970s as a marketing company for the then-unnamed alternative music field, and expanded to issue its own records in 1990. Thirsty Ear came to prominence ...

, 2004) * ''Longitude'' (Thirsty Ear, 2005) * ''Altitude'' (Thirsty Ear, 2007)

As sideman

With

* ''

Mysteryfunk Garage A Trois is an American jazz quartet including drummer Stanton Moore, saxophonist Skerik, vibraphone and percussionist Mike Dillon and keyboardist Marco Benevento. They play a variety of music including rock, funk and jazz. History Gar ...

'' ( Fog City, 1999) * ''

Emphasizer ''Emphasizer'' is the first full length studio album by Garage A Trois released in 2003.liner notes Track listing # "Hard Headed Rio AKA Rio Cuca Dura" - 4:14 # "Sprung Monkey" - 4:39 # "Plena for My Grundle" - 3:40 # "A-Frame" - 3:56 # "We See" ...

'' (Tone-Cool, 2003) * ''

Outre Mer ''Outre Mer'' is the second full-length studio album by Garage A Trois released in 2005. Combining drums, percussion, eight-string guitar and saxophone, it is funk-influenced and emphasizes polyrhythmic grooves.Stephen LatessOutre Mer''All About ...

'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

, 2005) * ''Calm Down Cologne'' (Royal Potato Family, 2021) With T. J. Kirk * ''T. J. Kirk'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

, 1994) * ''If Four Was One'' (Warner Bros., 1996) * ''Talking Only Makes it Worse'' (Ropeadope, 2003) ive performance recorded 1997 With

* '' The Coalition of the Willing'' (Ropeadope, 2006) With others * ''

Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury ''Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury'' is the debut album by alternative hip hop crew The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, released in 1992. ''Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury'' was met with critical acclaim. "Television, the Drug of the Nation" ...

'',

(

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, 1992) * ''Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales'', William S. Burroughs (Island, 1993) * ''

All Kooked Out! ''All Kooked Out!'' is the debut studio album by New Orleans-based drummer Stanton Moore. It was recorded entirely live in the studio with no overdubs and no headphones, in a week-long session that also yielded ''Mysteryfunk'', the debut album ...

'', Stanton Moore (Fog City, 1998) * ''

'', D'Angelo (Cheeba Sound, 2000) * '' Live at Tonic'', Christian McBride (Ropeadope, 2006) * ''

Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

'' (" In Repair"), John Mayer (2007) * ''Fade'' (Tim Collins featuring Charlie Hunter & Simon Lott (Ropeadope, 2008) * ''Go Home'' (Ben Goldberg, Charlie Hunter, Scott Amendola & Ron Miles (BAG Productions, 2009) * ''

Channel Orange ''Channel Orange'' (stylized as ''channel ORANGE'') is the debut studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. After releasing his mixtape '' Nostalgia, Ultra'' the previous ...

'' ("

Sweet Life Sweet Life may refer to: * ''Sweet Life'' (album), a 1999 album by Renée Geyer * "Sweet Life" (Paul Davis song), a 1978 song by Paul Davis * "Sweet Life" (Frank Ocean song), a 2012 song by Frank Ocean * "Sweet Life (La vie est belle)", a 2013 s ...

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

(2012) * ''Family Dinner Volume 2'',

Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalist ...

(2016) * ''The Rob Dixon Trio Coast to Crossroads Feat.Charlie Hunter and Mike Clark (2018) * ''Don't Let it Stop'' (Petr Cancura featuring Charlie Hunter and Geoff Clapp) (Roots2Boot Recordings 2020)

Videography

* ''Right Now Live'', (Ropeadope DVD, 2004) * ''Solo Inventions'', ( Shanachie DVD, 2005) * '' In Repair: One Song, One Day'', playing 8-string with

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

(

Aware Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events. Another definition describes it as a state wherein a subject is aware of some inform ...

2006) (

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

download) * ''Solos: the Jazz Sessions'', (Original Spin Media DVD, 2011)

Filmography

* ''SOLOS: the jazz sessions'' (2004) * ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' (1997) * ''Rochester, New York Jazz Festival'' (2009)

References

External links

CharlieHunter.comCharlie Hunter collection
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Charlie 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American jazz guitarists Living people 1967 births Ropeadope Records artists Blue Note Records artists Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni Seven-string guitarists Eight-string guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians GroundUPmusic artists The Coalition of the Willing (band) members Garage A Trois members Thirsty Ear Recordings artists