Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss

Plastic Alto interloping here: I started a rock series, at Cubberley, with punk and art punk bands, and included Charlie Hunter Trio, which I thought was part of an “acid jazz” scene, and or came out of the Elbo Room in SF and there was this type of dichotomy, or so I thought with Charlie Hunter on one side and Broun Fellinis on the other. Through Charlie I got turned on to, for instance, Bill Frisell, and somewhere along the way everyone from Danilo Perez and Medeski Martin and Wood to, yes, Leon Parker, Steve Lacy, and now I do more work in jazz than rock. But it was jazz or a part of jazz before jam. Notable here that Charlie cut his teeth in certain ways with Michael Franti in Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprosy.

For years there was always that debate of what constituted jazz music or a jazz artist. Did that ever come up with you, whether you “fit in” as a jazz musician?

Well, maybe so. I think when I was younger I let that get to me, but the fact of the matter is jazz really stopped when Louis Armstrong switched from cornet to trumpet. I’d have to be in a time machine to really be a “jazz musician,” right?

I’ve spent — and spend — countless hours sitting with those recordings and learning as much as I can, and I have an affinity for that music. And hopefully in some form in the time that I’m living I can do that music some kind of justice. But generally I think that whole concept of whatever you want to call “jazz” . . . I don’t know of too many musicians who think in those terms.

Unless you’re Wynton Marsalis, who I think is brilliant and definitely managed to decide what [jazz] is and the parameters within which you have to function to be considered a jazz musician. And I think he’s right, I would definitely agree with him. My whole issue is I want to try and make a living music that comes from what [Wynton] is doing. I would much rather listen to him play and do what he does than a guy who’s my age or younger who’s really earnestly “trying to be a jazz musician.”

PAIH: I recall showing some teenagers my schedule of shows and a young listeners said, in reaction to my written description of the rock band Cake, including a horn section “Oh, I like jazz” like having a trumpet made a band jazz. Doug Wamble is down with the Marsalis machine and played with Charlie, in that realm. John Mayer is a fan of Charlie, has jammed and written with him and can sing back or maybe play entire CHT solos.

You’re on a seven-string guitar now, and as you came up that was your thing: You were the guy who could play the bass and guitar at the same time. After so many years has that ever felt limiting?

That’s an interesting question. . . Isn’t this whole creative music thing partly making your own sound? And doesn’t that mean learning all that’s happened before you and using that as a toolbox to move into something that’s more of an honest expression of your humanity? I feel like it’s been a lot more work than it would’ve been if I had just played a guitar and a bass and just went from there. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It actually simplifies things, and [allows me to] be more direct. And less desperate (laughs). Because there’s really nothing more desperate than a guitar player playing a lot of notes.

PAIH: Charlie also kicks butt on the Brazilian tamborine.

You’ve been self-releasing albums since 2008. What inspired you to go that route?

Well, it wouldn’t make any sense for me to do anything else. If you had a record company, why would you give me any money to sell so few records? Whereas I can make a record really inexpensively that sounds really good, and I can sell enough CDs to be able to make the next record. So it just made sense.

PAIH: Touring is the model, as fine as most of those cds are.

That’s interesting because for a long time you were on Blue Note–

Yeah, but that was a different day. There still was a record industry and that whole way of doing business. Scott and I were talking about that, we were on Conan O’Brien, and we toured opening for Tracy Chapman and we did a million of these really high profile things and everyone was going, “Oh man, next week you’re going to SoundScan 10,000 records, you’re going to do this, you’re going to do that.” And I’m just like, no matter how accessible we think what we do is, it’s really not. It’s going to be inaccessible to 90% of the public, so don’t even bother trying to reach them. They’ll find you if they need to. Let’s worry about the 10% — and there’s a lot of people in that 10%. Worry about trying to find them, and you’ll find those people.

PAIH: We can buy his new cd by download here. I am such a fan I would pay money to watch Charlie Hunter and friends move furniture and clang pots together, it would be part of the same wave or expression and their talent would show thru. Someone should make a video of Charlie Hunter knocking on his neighbors doors to collect money for his son’s little league team, selling chocolate covered almonds or something. The “knock-knock” would have a musicality and uniqueness and integrity and continuity. I will ask him about this when I get the chance. Like the Richard Serra film of trying to catch a falling pipe.

I did a phoner interview with Charlie for KZSU not too long ago, maybe I can type up a transcript and post it here, or link the actual file.

I also have about five hours of five different Charlie Hunter performances, with five different groups, that some day I will work out a rationale and model to share these with the people. “Charlie Hunter Live(s) at the Cub”.