exposed

Ben Goldberg – Clarinet
Charlie Hunter – Guitar
Ron Miles – Trumpet
Scott Amendola – Drums 

Ben Goldberg and Charlie Hunter at rehearsal - Berkeley, CA

Ron Miles at rehearsal - Berkeley, CA

Scott Amendola at rehearsal - Berkeley, CA

Ben Goldberg prepares for show - Kuumbwa

Charlie Hunter

Ben Goldberg

Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola

Ron Miles

Charlie’s left hand

By the time this date came around, I felt bad to nearly forgotten about Charlie Hunter trio playing in town at the Mint. By now it’s about bi-annual event that Charlie would bring his group through, once in the summer and once in the winter. I first heard about the show from Charlie’s previous trio member John Ellis a few months back. I wanted to know when John will bring his Double Wide quartet to Los Angeles. He mentioned the possibility that he might open for Charlie. I assumed this was going to happen. Then the devil of the details got in the way. I’d just have to settle with only Charlie’s trio.

Settling isn’t an accurate term here, really. Charlie’s current trio with Erik Deutsch on organ and Tony Mason on drums certainly is a lot of music intensity. I convinced my friends Ravi Carman and Matt Cook, the Highland Parks musical residents to go with me to the first show on Friday night. It’s interesting to hear musicians’ take on Charlie. They both had never seen him before. Matt mentioned that he refused to follow Charlie’s technicality and focus only on hearing the music. I felt that I occasionally have to do that as well. It’s been said by many… that “Charlie is a freak”.

Offstage, I hardly see Charlie exhibits any hints of anything freak-like. He often dubs himself as a “boring suburban dad”, suggesting in the subtext that my ‘inner city life’ is the more exciting? Or at least in the drama-filled sense? Talking about the mundanity of life and immediate reflections of current events is the safest for me to do around him, I think. If anything is freaky about him is his incredible wealth of music knowledge tops with how well well read he is. Ended up it seems, much like his music, I’d stick with simpler conversations instead of slip off into the depth of his thoughts. Yes, I’m a little fearful, but not because of him, but for myself to free fall into something I have no grasp on.

Catching his shows and catching up with the latest gossips becomes mandatory for me. It’s nice to know some heroes to be inspired by.
 

Charlie

Tony

Erik

Charlie

Charlie

Tony

Charlie Hunter Trio at the Mint

Erik

Tony

Charlie with friend

My prior feeling of ambivalence, smelling a drastic attempt to put a cool whip on top of plastic ice-cream was soon abolished. The jazz series held at a shopping/mega Hollywood and Highland entertainment center was —-indeed, a good thing. 

Charlie Hunter and his current Trio with Erik Deutsch and Tony Mason delivered a quality show to a a packed audience. The stage was in the court yard, even as surrounded by commerce, it was a very good set up. There were hundreds of chairs and standing room all around occupied by old fans,new fans, and curious on-lookers. The sound system was surprisingly great.  I had a huge revelation that maybe… just maybe, putting legitimate concerts in the middle of modern marketplace, if done well, will prove more beneficial than… let’s say, putting on a concert at a specific venue charging a specific $$$ price from specific people? Can we have capitalism and socialism too? I think it’s time for us to draw up a new political/social/cultural structural idea.

Since Charlie put together this trio, I haven’t gotten a chance to sink into it so much. Maybe I was still missing the last trio with my favorite humans – John Ellis and Derrek Phillips. Tonight, however, I decided to go ahead and love this band of personalities, too. With Erik on the Rhodes, this new music direction is certainly different. I finally warmed up and got into them.

Afterward, we took a half an hour to decide where to go eat. I convinced them to drive to Chinatown, some 5-6 miles from where we were. The suggestion proved victorious, because FULL HOUSE Chinese food never failed anyone. They treated me to the dinner – which is why now – exactly at this moment – I’m feeling horrible for not able to find the negatives but a few from what I shot that evening. Especially sorry – Tony….. they will turn up!

Erik Deutsch

Charlie Hunter