Charlie was a staple of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz scene for years. Playing his custom-made 8-string guitar (3 bass strings and 5 guitar strings), Charlie performs for audiences of all musical tastes. Incorporating jazz, funk, rock, and blues into his music, Hunter is merging the gap between these musical genres and in the process creating a sound and style of music all his own. In the process, he has become somewhat of a jazz ambassador to fans who have not yet found an attraction to jazz but who can grasp the immediacy and often lowdown funkiness of his grooves.

Charlie's recent move to Brooklyn may make it easier to maintain his relationship with Blue Note Records, but really resulted from his need for new challenges, and an eagerness to be around musicians who make him feel like "a little fish in a big pond". That he would find himself back in San Francisco in late 1997 at the Great American Music Hall, waiting to go onstage and sit in with a lesser-known band called Galactic, is (we would hope!) evidence of his good graces and the skills of the boys in that band. Regardless of the reasons, Charlie was there and he was called onstage early into the show, and what was supposed to be a tune or two turned into an all-nighter... and it was after that show that Charlie and Stanton started conspiring to work together at some point in the future.

Four months later, Charlie graciously agreed to join in on Stanton Moore's first solo record. The music reflects the good time that was had by all, of course. But we do suspect that the key drawing card for Charlie was Stanton's mom's southern cooking which arrived at the studio every afternoon...

" Moore plays all over the beat on All Kooked Out, sometimes laying a bit behind it and letting things simmer, other times getting slightly ahead of it, making the music feel about to trip, just before his command of rhythm snaps things back into place. It is this aspect of his partnership with Hunter that is most impressive. Perhaps due to Hunter's rhythmic prowess -- he plays a custom eight-string guitar with three bass and five lead guitar strings, which he plays simultaneously -- he and Moore synch up so perfectly that when they accent a beat together, it sounds as if they're being directed. Hunter's talent also shines in his effort to not be overtly present on the record, proving that understated, supportive playing is more the sign of a great musician than any self-indulgent chops. " (Alex Oliver, Offbeat Magazine, April 1998)

Charlie's incredible double-barrelled guitar/bass axe is all over the All Kooked Out! album.

Of course, he's got a string of great albums on Blue Note Records and elsewhere...

For more info on Charlie, check out his home page set up by Blue Note. You may also want to check out this cool site dedicated to him:

http://www.charliehunter.com

This site includes a great online journal of Charlie's west coast "All Kooked Out!" tour - with sound clips from this incredible series of shows.