The ever-adventurous eight-string guitarist’s eighteenth album as a leader appears in record stores today on GroundUP Music/Verve. It features three musicians who have appeared with Hunter over the years—trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, drummer Bobby Previte, and cornetist Kirk Knuffke.
The whimsical title is a quote from boxer Mike Tyson and it sums up part of Hunter’s philosophy about the reality of trying to make a living playing music in these changing times for the music business. Ironically, the album appears on a major label affording a chance for Hunter’s music to be heard by a considerably larger audience.
It was recorded live in the studio and is an exploration of the blues and R&B in a way only Hunter and his partners could accomplish. This is some of Hunter’s most accessible music for audiences less attuned to modern jazz. Hunter said,” The concept was to play and not think of it as jazz, but an improvisation of the blues and R&B. This is not from a jazz harmonic place, but straight blues and R&B improvising.”
For longtime fans of Hunter, the interplay between the sidemen and the leader, particularly Fowlkes’ trombone work, is as stellar as ever. Fowlkes makes his instrument squeal and growl and howl mimicking the human voice. On “(Looks Like) Someone Got Ahead of Schedule on Their Medication,” the band evokes a train chugging down the track.
Hunter, a musician not known for his straight ahead playing, even takes some solos that would not be out of place on a blues record particularly on blues legend Big Bill Broonzy’s “Big Bill’s Blues,” the only cover on the album.
For songs coming from such a roots-oriented place, the album has its dense moments. With Hunter playing both bass lines and guitar parts, the music is simultaneously simple and complex—a feat that sets these musicians and this album apart.
