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Content from KIOS staff relating to jazz, blues, and all kinds of music.

KIOS Jazz CD of the Month: Charlie Hunter/Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth

Settle in with a cool beverage on a hot summer night and you will find plenty of toe tapping moments to enjoy on the new one from guitarist Charlie Hunter. Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth(Ground Up Records) was recorded 100% live in a studio in Hudson, New York and has a rock solid groove that makes you feel right at home.

Charlie Hunter has a true gem of a date here. The title refers to a moment of clarity described once by heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. It becomes exceedingly clear once you have started listening that Hunter and company have the knockout punch when delivering a rock solid groove. With all original tunes from Hunter, the acclaimed 8 string guitarist is joined by bandmates Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Bobby Previte (drums), and Curtis Fowlkes (trombone).

Swaying from blues, to jazz, to rock and even Latin flavored grooves, Hunter's easy command of the guitar is hard to resist. With songs punctuated by Fowlkes trombone, and Knuffke's cornet, with the rock steady pulse from Previte, this is a date to savor. The mix is perfect--from festive to somber, it's similar to the emotions one might experience while listening to music at one's favorite hangout.

The set list:
 1. Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth
  2. (Looks Like) Somebody Got Ahead Of Schedule On Their Medication
  3. Leave Him Lay
  4. We Don't Want Nobody Nobody Sent
  5. Big Bills Blues
  6. Latin For Travelers
  7. No Money, No Honey
  8. Who Put You Behind The Wheel?
  9. (Wish I Was) Already Paid And On My Way Home
  10. The Guys. Get. Shirts.

About Charlie Hunter:

Charlie Hunter performing at the Iowa City Jazz Festival, 2003.
Credit Photo credit: Chris Cooke/KIOS
Charlie Hunter performing at the Iowa City Jazz Festival, 2003.

 

Charlie Hunter picked up his first guitar at the age of 12 and had the good fortune to study with Joe Satriani while Hunter was living in Berkeley, California.  At the urging of friends Hunter started to become better acquainted with jazz music, and after several false starts he was hooked.  The addition of jazz music to blues and pop music helped to mold Hunter’s sound. "Growing up in the Bay Area had a profound effect on my music. I was exposed to everything from the Dead Kennedy's to P-Funk to Art Blakey. In the Bay Area, you have all of these different musical cultures living together and all of these different musical cultures and their music gets semi-assimilated into this non-polarized state of being where hybrids are free to grow, and there are all of these genres and cross genres to play in and around."

Charlie Hunter had his first 7-string guitar (2 bass strings, 5 guitar strings, 2 pickups) made for him in the late eighties. After figuring out how to play his axe, Hunter paid his dues as a street musician in Europe and later in San Francisco and Berkeley. He toured with the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy which included a year's worth of huge stadium gigs opening for U2 along with Primus.

Desiring to move on to a more jazz-oriented group, Charlie formed his first trio in 1994.  The distinctive, groove-oriented band caught the attention of fans and critics alike. Feeling the need to expand musically, Hunter relocated to the New York area in 1997, opening himself up to work with a who’s who in jazz, and expanding his band in the process. Hunter has also worked on various side projects including T.J. Kirk and a duo recording with Leon Parker, in addition to recording, performing and touring worldwide with his group.

Hunter is also trying to grow musically, and spiritually. "I mean I don't want to get all hippy-dippy, but the goal is to reach the spiritual center of whatever music you're searching for. In that search, for me, it's real important to bring in other people and to have it be a real honest scene in which the audience is also part of the music. I know it's a good show depending on how the crowd is getting into the music. I can feel it when they get the groove, and we play off that."

For more information you may visit: http://www.charliehunter.com/

Chris Cooke has been a voice on public radio in Omaha since 1989. Working at KVNO-FM during college, Cooke hosted a weekend progressive jazz show on the station in addition to working as an on-air announcer. In November 1992, Cooke signed on at KIOS-FM and has been there ever since. He has hosted the Tuesday and Thursday editions of Jazz in the Afternoon since 1996 and has hosted Last Call since that year. A long time fan of jazz music, Cooke enjoys talking with the musicians who make jazz music and presenting those conversations with listeners. When not hosting or listening to jazz, on record or in person, Cooke maintains a busy schedule as a self-employed web design consultant.