Charlie Hunter

Listen to Charlie Hunter

At the risk of alienating all the Charlie Hunter fans out there, I have to ask, what's the big deal? Sure he plays a custom eight-string guitar, noodling both the bass and lead lines simultaneously, which is a superhuman feat for certain. Every time I listen to the Charlie Hunter Quintet, I can't help thinking that those bass lines would be more interesting (and maybe his leads would be too) if there were two players instead of just one. I like Hunter's musical style, as much as I like any other Jazz guitarist, I just don't think anyone would find the music remarkable if a six-piece outfit played it instead. For anyone enamored with Charlie Hunter's mad dexterity, his site offers some free MP3s and an album cover specifically designed for creating your own album of the audio.