Charlie Hunter

By the end of the decade, Hunter’s innovative and pioneering contributions to the jazz genre had significantly reshaped its landscape, earning him a place among the most influential jazz artists of the 21st century.

Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, producer 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 and Tuck Andress, two of his biggest influences, who blended bass notes with melody in a way that created the illusion of two guitars.

Charlie Hunter's affinity for guitars was cultivated from a young age, largely due to his mother's profession as a guitar repairer.

He and his mother and sister lived for several years on a commune in Mendocino County, California, then settled in Berkeley.

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

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 in Michael Franti's political rap group, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.

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

For his self-titled 1993 debut album, Charlie Hunter Trio (PrawnSong 1993), Hunter played a seven-string guitar for the duality effect, locking down the bottom with drummer Jay Lane and mixing melodically with saxophonist Dave Ellis (saxophonist).

But on his trio’s 1995 sophomore release, Bing, Bing, Bing! (Blue Note, 1995), he unveiled his custom-made Novax eight-string guitar.

Designed by Ralph Novak, the instrument featured fanned frets and separate pickups for its guitar and bass portions.

Picking bass notes with his right thumb while fretting them with his left index finger (while at the same time fingerpicking guitar chords and single notes with his right hand’s remaining four digits as he frets with his left hand’s other three fingers), Hunter achieves the real sound of two-for-one.

Hunter played with the side group T.J. Kirk in the mid-’90s, a band that derived their name from the cover material they exclusively played: Thelonious Monk, James Brown, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

T.J. Kirk released a self-titled 1995 debut and their 1996 follow-up, If Four Was One received a GRAMMY nomination.

Hunter’s next project was an instrumental remake of Bob Marley’s Natty Dread album in its entirety.

Also featuring saxophonists Kenny Brooks and Calder Spanier, the 1997 release beat the odds by becoming arguably Hunter’s best album.

Teaming with vibraphonist Stefon Harris and percussionist John Santos, Charlie Hunter & Pound for Pound released Return of the Candyman (Blue Note 1998).

A departure from Natty Dread, mainly due to the work of Harris, the disc featured a vibes-heavy cover of Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle.”

In between tours he recorded a 1999 duo album with drummer/percussionist Leon Parker and a self-titled 2000 album that featured Parker and an otherwise ensemble cast.

He performed on three songs on D'Angelo's album Voodoo (2000), including "The Root".

He has stated that the session for the song was the most challenging session he has worked on.

Hunter also contributed greatly to the 2000 comeback album by drummer Mike Clark (drummer), Actual Proof.

Hunter concluded his run at Blue Note with 2001’s Songs from the Analog Playground, which saw him collaborating with vocalists for the first time, ranging from labelmates Norah Jones and Kurt Elling to Mos Def.

2003 found Hunter with a new label (Ropeadope) and two new bands (the Charlie Hunter Quintet) on Right Now Move, and the beginning of Groundtruther, a partnership with percussionist/composer Bobby Previte.

They released Come in Red Dog, This Is Tango Leader before adopting the Groundtruther moniker.

In 2003 he released Friends Seen and Unseen, with drummer Derrek Phillips and saxman John Ellis (saxophonist), both members of the Quintet.

By now, Groundtruther had taken on a life of its own, with Hunter and Previte joined by a rotating third member.

Latitude was first, in 2004 with saxophonist Greg Osby, followed by Longitude with DJ Logic in 2005.

In 2006, the Charlie Hunter Trio resurfaced with Copperopolis.

After recruiting Erik Deutsch on keys and Simon Lott on drums, the trio released Mistico in the summer of 2007.

In 2008, Hunter released the self-titled Charlie Hunter Trio and "Baboon Strength" and then continued into the new decade with "Gentlemen, I Neglected to Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid."

Hunter's exploration into various genres led to the creation of a unique catalog of instrumental music From 2008 to 2018, he released a series of albums that further explored his 7-string guitar style.

Highlights during this period were “Baboon Strength” (2008), “Gentlemen I Neglected to Tell You You Will Not Be Getting Paid” (2009), “ Let the Bells Ring On" (2015), "Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth" (2016). In 2016, he embarked on a groundbreaking tour with a new quartet that included a trombone, an instrument seldom seen in his previous line-ups. After releasing Blue Note’s "Songs of the Analog Playground" which featured Norah Jones, Kurt Elling, Mos Def, Theryl DeClouet, he continued to work with vocalists such as D’Angelo, Frank Ocean, John Mayer, alongside emerging voices like Dara Tucker, Lucy Woodward, Silvana Estrada, Maritzaida and Victoria Elliott.

During the 2019 pandemic, Hunter turned his attention towards music production and long-distance collaborations.

This led to the creation of Wheelhouse Beats, a groundbreaking metronome app featuring some of today’s most notable drummers.

Furthermore, Hunter founded SideHustle Records, his personal record label and artist development house.