With Songs
from the Analog Playground, Hunter
has for the first time brought vocalists
and a road-tested instrumental ensemble
into the mix. The
four singers who contribute to Songs
from the Analog Playground include Theryl
de Clouet from New Orleans jazz-funk
band Galactic and rapper Mos
Def, as well as Hunter's Blue Note
labelmates Kurt Elling and Norah
Jones. Says Hunter of his decision
to bring vocals into the studio, "That's
the kind of music I was brought up on.
As a street musician that's all you played,
because if you played instrumental music
you really went broke."
De
Clouet was called into the studio with
Hunter and his band in New York from a
Philadelphia tour stop. His vocals on the
buoyant Earth, Wind and Fire cover "Mighty
Mighty" are gruff and soulful,
adding a potent edge to the Charlie Hunter
Quartet's polished sound. He also sings
on the slow, spooky rendition of the Willie
Dixon-penned standard
"Spoonful."
Norah
Jones was called in after Hunter heard
her demo CD (the same demo CD that resulted
in the signing of the young singer
to Blue Note), and as Hunter says, "She
came into the studio and kicked butt." Jones'
breathy alto graces two of the more unexpected
cover tunes on Songs from the Analog
Playground: Roxy Music's "More Than
This" and the show-stealing closer, Nick
Drake's "Day
Is Done."
Hunter
intended for Mos Def to lay down some rhymes,
and instead the rapper transformed himself
into a tender soul singer on "Creole"
(for which Hunter wrote the music and Mos
Def wrote the lyrics). He also recorded the
rap for the album opener, the Latin percussion
vamp "Street Sounds."
Kurt
Elling, a friend of Hunter's and noted
jazz singer, recorded his vocals after
the instrumental tracks for the original
song "Desert Way" and the standard "Close
Your Eyes" were laid down-the only
overdubs on the record.
Hunter
describes his synthesis of jazz, fusion,
funk, blues and rock as simply "rhythm
music," and he and his band-saxophonist John
Ellis, drummer Stephen
Chopek and percussionist Chris
Lovejoy-live up to the title from
the opening moments of Songs from the
Analog Playground. The quartet has
been together for over a year, and has
played over 200 shows in that time - par
for the course for the road-warrior Hunter.
On previous albums, the guitarist assembled
his groups just before entering the studio;
this time, his road-tested band brought
a practiced chemistry to the recording
process. "Our whole thing just lives and
dies by the band's playing together,"
Hunter says. "Really, the sum is more than
its parts."
Hunter,
Ellis, Chopek and Lovejoy provide lush
backup for the four singers on Songs
from the Analog Playground, but they
really shine on the album's five instrumental
tracks. With ample room to stretch their
legs, the quartet has a soothing melodic
to balance its rhythmic virtuosity. The
nimble syncopation of "Rhythm Music
Rides Again"
and the spacious groove of "Percussion
Shuffle"
provide a launching pad for Chopek and Lovejoy
to strut their stuff, showing why Hunter
praises their ability to work in tandem as
a fluid percussion machine. "Run
For It" and the enigmatically titled "Mitch
Better Have My Bunny" let Hunter and
Ellis take the lead with graceful melodic
runs and stirring solos. Hunter performs
the short-but-sweet "Sunday Morning" by
himself, displaying his remarkable ability
to play guitar and bass parts simultaneously
on his guitar.
Songs
from the Analog Playground is the
latest high point of Charlie Hunter's
career, and the album is a whole new
sonic terrain for a musician who just
keeps getting better with time. Armed
with some of the world's best vocal chords
and a veritable freight train of percussion
mastery, Hunter is progressing at an
alarming rate and bringing a lot of eager
listeners along for the ride. "I'm just
trying to play music in the post-music
era,"
Hunter says. "Everyone says that this is
a bad time for music, and I totally agree,
especially as far as popular music goes.
But that's great-It just means it's more
of a challenge for us to make something happen."
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