Players - Downbeat

Charlie Hunter
Baboon Strength
SPIRE ARTIST MEDIA
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Tim Collins
Fade »
ROPEADOPE DIGITAL 45
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Charlie Hunter has
been a student of the
trio format for years,
and with each incarnation
of his threesome,
his music feels more focused and complete. On
Baboon Strength, a lineup revamp swaps the
bop-oriented saxophonist John Ellis and drummer
Simon Lott for Erik Deutsch on a fuzzedout
combo organ and groove-minded drummer
Tony Mason. The combination complements
Hunter’s percussive seven-string style, even as
he shuns the spotlight to focus on the group
dynamic.
Baboon Strength draws strength from the succinctness
of the individual songs and the seamlessness
of the album as a whole. While
Hunter’s last release with the Groundtruther project
sprawled at nearly two dozen tracks, each
tune here makes its point quickly, but still leaves
time for innovation and fun. The trio plays with
pop-oriented melodic
ideas borrowed from
unlikely places like
surf punk and discorock
(Debbie Harry
would feel at home
with the opening
bars of “Welcome
To Frankfurt”). An
achingly soft ballad
underscored with
propulsive percussion
honors its namesake,
Karen Carpenter, for
her drumming skills as much as for her vocals.
However, the thematic opener gambles the
album’s ultimate pop potential with a highpitched,
squealing tone that’s downright annoying
on its surface, but entertaining because it
works despite itself. In the end, the muted guitar
parts and slow-cooked improvisations over tight
melodies point to a fresh direction for Hunter.
While Baboon offers neatly packaged, lighthearted
tunes, Hunter’s production and bass
work with vibraphonist Tim Collins portrays
something a little darker and more earnest.
Featuring Lott on drums, Collins’ Fade offers a
range of emotional tracks that move seamlessly
from a hammering anger (“Loud”) to painfully
pretty lines that want to keep replaying in your
mind long after the end of the disc (“Rise, Set,
Fall”). Strings on “Lake George 1983” and the
title track deepen the textures even more, giving
the album’s slate of original compositions a
dreamy, cinematic feel.
Even the music feels narrative, like the
unyielding counterpoint in “Stop Or I’ll Throw
My Keys,” which forges ahead for bars and bars
with the same level of propulsion, refusing to
climax or let one melody have the last word.
Meanwhile, the pensive and beautiful “Cave
Dweller” evokes a head-down, heavy-heartedness
that makes being out front a lonely endeavor
for the vibes. But Collins’ loneliness is the listener’s
treat. —Jennifer Odell
Baboon Strength: Athens; Astronaut Love Triangle; Welcome
To Frankfurt; Difford-Tilbrook; A Song For Karen Carpenter;
Baboon Strength; Fine Corinthian Leather; Porter-Hayes;
AbaDaba. (44:52)
Personnel: Charlie Hunter, seven-string guitar; Tony Mason,
drums; Erik Deutsch, keyboards.
»
Fade: Loud; Rise, Set, Fall; Lake George 1983; Dear Old Friend;
Stop Or I’ll Throw My Keys; Cave Dweller; Fade; Mystified;
Saddle Bags; Joyride. (51:43)
Personnel: Tim Collins, vibraphone, electravibes, bowed vibes,
glockenspiel, piano, drum programming; Charlie Hunter, electric
bass; Simon Lott, drums; Ulrike Schmitz (2), Zach Brock (3, 7),
violin; Matt Blostein, alto saxophone (3, 7); Marla Hansen, viola (3,
7); Chris Hoffman, cello (3, 7); Matt Clohesy, acoustic bass (3, 7).
»
Ordering info: charliehunter.com
Ordering info: ropeadope.com
April 2009 DOWNBEAT 75