Coming in August: It's Commonly Jazz

The Fifth Third "It's Commonly Jazz" series returns to the Queen City for its 26th year of presenting quality jazz that is free to the public.

Over the years, this wonderful event has featured some of the most accomplished jazz musicians from around the world. Also returning is the "Going Green" and sustainability theme, with T-Shirts and other promotional items made with organic and recycled materials. The organizers and sponsors of It's Commonly Jazz are extremely passionate about the sustainable efforts to help preserve the earth.

With love for our environment also comes love for the music, with a magnificent lineup:

Aug. 4th - WOW, presented by Jazz Alive
Aug. 11th - Dixie Karas Sextet
Aug. 18th - Kenny Phelps Quartet
Aug. 25th - Tim Warfield & the Unusual Suspects

Each show runs from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. For more information, visit www.itscommonlyjazz.com then come to the Seasongood Pavillion to hear some outstanding music!

Also, to see what the fun is all about, visit the Jazz Half's YouTube channel for video footage from the previous two years. This is one event that is truly friendly for the entire family, as well as the environment!

- jh

Business and Fun: Charlie Hunter maximizes his show at Molly Malones

Charlie Hunter has the ability to have fun and relax, in seamless fashion, all the while working. As the show opened on the 2nd floor of Molly Malone’s in Covington, he wasted no time diving into the music; as he and Drummer Derek Phillips played four tunes before verbally addressing the audience. But ah, this is what true enthusiasts of Hunter’s music expect; for the substance of any show is in the music. For the entire evening, he may have shared two, maybe three song titles with the audience.

The stage had a warm, cozy feel to it, in a sort of unplugged way. Whether seeing him for the first time, or the 50th time, there is no mistaking the fact that Charlie has a genuine love for what he does. He connects with the audience from more than a social level, but a musical level as well. On every tune, Charlie and Derek demonstrated “call and response”, exchanging playful sneers, smiles, and even cheerful shouts while non-verbally inviting the audience to join in the fun of the great music experience. Charlie’s custom 7 and 8-string guitars equips him for utilizing his magnificent technique of simultaneously carrying the bass line and lead melody. This was truly something to take in live, for appreciating the intricate skill and dexterity required - translating to what you see and hear; as one Guitarist delivers the sound of two, and at times three.

Just before the end of the first set, the duo performed Copperopolis, a blues-driven, crowd-pleasing tune they recorded in New Orleans just 1 week before the Hurricane Katrina devastation occurred.

A refreshing move happened at the start of the 2nd set, where Charlie and Derek were seen approaching the stage; and what sounded like a warm-up, actually a crescendo into the unannounced opening number (Well played, in my book - the move, AND the music). The delivery in the 2nd set continued in the same vein as the first, light, fun, and as relaxed as Charlie’s black boots, jeans, and loose flannel.

The duo closed with the title track from Charlie’s 2005 release, Gentlemen, I neglected to inform you will not be getting paid, a tune that travels through jazz, blues, and borderline bluegrass. And with a much-demanded encore, Charlie and Derek returned to wind things down with Smoke gets in your eyes.

Charlie and Derek struck a balance on all their tunes. The up-tempo numbers were alive and driving, evidenced by unison claps and people dancing on the far ends of the 2nd story hall; while slower tempo tunes were delivered with a seductive groove that roped in the audience, never dull or drifting.

Musicians of today cite inspiration (among other things) from legends of yesterday. But what makes a legend? Early in their careers have any of these "legends" pick up their instrument to play, with the aspiration of becoming a legend? I choose to think not. The focus and energy has always been on the music, driven by passion.

With Charlie Hunter's passion for the music, and brilliance of craft, he is sure to be mentioned for generations to come.

- jh

The Jazz Half Interview with Charlie Hunter

The Jazz Half talked with dynamic Guitarist Charlie Hunter via phone to chat about custom guitars, a pure music sound, and his latest release, Public Domain.

jh: For the benefit of Cincinnati getting to know Charlie Hunter, tell us a little about your earlier years; where you’re from, and how you were introduced to music.
ch: Well, I grew up in Berkeley, CA, and my mom repaired guitars so I was always around guitars. She listened to a lot of old blues music, that was always on the radio. I just grew up around a lot of musical people.

jh: You regularly play 6,7, and 8-string guitars that are custom built, right? When did you first consider a custom designed guitar, and does it contribute to your distinct sound?
ch: I played 6-string when I was younger. I’ve played the 7 and 8-strings for the last 20 years. And they’re custom-made for what I do. So it’s a whole different animal, and I’ve been practicing and working on it and the more I practice, the more I retool it and change the tuning, the farther and farther away it gets from being a bass or guitar.

jh: Tell me about your latest release, “Public Domain”. Most of these are tunes from an earlier time, correct?
ch: Oh yeah, some of these are 100 years old. I had my Grandfather pick these tunes. As a matter of fact, he’s going to be 100 in about 2 weeks. So it was pretty cool to involve him in that.

jh: I wanted to ask you this next question from an Independent Artist’ perspective. Do you feel that technology has increased the independent artists’ opportunity for success, and do you think the number of independent artists have increased as a result?
ch: Well, yeah, but anybody and their brother’s uncle can make a record in their basement, and everyone is an Artist, but the one thing that holds true today that’s held true for a long time, is the people with the most money are going to be the people who are the most successful, regardless of their talent. Because in our society, if you have money behind you, you can pretty much eclipse everyone else. In my day, it was either you had a lot of money, and you can just keep going and going with your money supply, or you got a “Sugar Daddy” in the form of a record company; and I had the record company sugar daddy to get me from point A to point B. But now that’s not really as big of a factor for someone like me, but generally, whoever has the most money, wins.

jh: Some of your projects (including Public Domain) have consisted of very little or no editing, and “Gentlemen, I regret to inform you…” was recorded in mono (?). While the sound can be enhanced with certain tools, is there some element in the purity of the sound that is robbed by these same tools? What are your thoughts?
ch: I just think it depends on the people wielding them, and what you want to get out of it. For me, I personally just like playing with a live band, in a studio, with as few really great mics as possible, live to tape. That’s my favorite sound for that. There are people who use ProTools, spend weeks mixing then come up with some really cool stuff that you can’t get recording the other way. So it just depends on the end result you want. Its just technology. Content is everything, and medium can only help you enhance the content.

jh: Complete this sentence: Jazz music may not be as popular as mainstream, but it continues to ___________ .
ch: Oh, I wouldn’t even start with that sentence (laughs). I think that sentence might have been germane 20, 30 years ago. Now, I don’t think it’s really germane at all. I think in place of “jazz” you would just say “music”; ‘cause we kinda live in a post-music society, where music is a very small part of a delivery system for a much larger pop-icon industry. There’s very little music behind it, if you listen to the stuff that’s out today. You know back in the day, your 14-18 market was always your biggest market. But now its pretty much the only market and the other markets are so tiny, as to almost be ignored. So its really music, its not just jazz music.

jh: Charlie, thanks so much for your time, I really appreciate it.
ch: And thank you for yours, I appreciate it as well.

- jh