Charlie Hunter sounds like a musician with four hands. The young jazz guitarist plays an 8-string guitar of his own design, plucking bass lines at the same time he's fingering complex chords and melodic solos. Growing up as a Gen X fan of rock, funk, and soul, Charlie Hunter is a latecomer to jazz by some standards. If there's any lack of experience, he makes up with sheer virtuosity and a deep respect for his jazz forebears.
Yet Charlie Hunter is no revivalist. He infuses his playing with eclectic pop influences; he's covered songs from bop god Thelonius Monk to the grunge hero Kurt Cobain. Throughout the 90s Charlie Hunter rose among the top-selling and top-drawing jazz acts. While he is comfortable playing for genteel Lincoln Center jazz connoisseurs, his preferred venue is sweatier and smokier, where the next generation audience is on their feet and moving to the music. (Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
