Natty Dread

Performer: Charlie Hunter Quartet (Guitar)
Engineer: Christian Jones
Producer: Lee Townsend
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: On NATTY DREAD, the Charlie Hunter Quartet covers the Bob Marley & The Wailers album of the same title in its entirety. Charlie Hunter Quartet: Charlie Hunter (8-string guitar); Calder Spanier (alto saxophone); Kenny Brooks (tenor saxophone); Scott Amendola (drums). Recorded at Mobius Music, San Francisco, California. Includes liner notes by Dan Ouellette. The is part of the Blue Note Cover series. Personnel: Charlie Hunter (8-string guitar); Calder Spanier (saxophone, alto saxophone); Kenny Brooks (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Scott Amendola (drums). Audio Mixer: Judy Clapp. Liner Note Authors: Dan Quellette; Dan Ouellette. Recording information: Mobius Music, San Francisco, CA (1997). Photographers: Andy Goldsworthy; Giant Steps; Jimmy Katz. Unknown Contributor Role: Andy Goldsworthy. In choosing to record Bob Marley's classic 1974 reggae album Natty Dread track-for-track in an instrumental jazz style, eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter opened himself up for skepticism. Yet an idea that looked questionable in theory would prove stellar in practice, as Hunter turned Natty Dread -- with the songs sequenced exactly as they were on Marley's original release -- into one of the best CDs of his career. Hunter's customized eight-string instrument and prodigious talent allow him to play simultaneous guitar melodies and basslines, but his Wurlitzer organ simulations and walking bass aren't the only highlights of the opening "Lively Up Yourself." Alto saxophonist Calder Spanier and tenorman Kenny Brooks alternate between swinging leads and supportive harmonies, and drummer Scott Amendola gets in creative solo flurries near the end. Hunter's beautiful intro to "No Woman, No Cry" echoes both Pat Martino and Django Reinhardt; the saxophonists' interplay and Amendola's clever rimshots, tom-toms, and cowbell work lively up "Them Belly Full." The secrets to Hunter's success lie in separate amplifiers for his instrument's guitar and bass portions; great wah-wah pedal work to achieve keyboard tones, and the requisite brain power to play basslines with both thumbs while fretting and fingerpicking the melodies. All are illustrated in readings of the tranquil "Rebel Music," energetic "So Jah Seh" and the shuffling title track. Throughout Natty Dread, reggae is implied more often than played, as Hunter and his quartet portray the fun they had in arranging these pieces with performances both swinging and stirring (even dropping an "I Shot the Sheriff" quote into "Bend Down Low"). Spanier died after Natty Dread's release when he was struck by a car, and Hunter subsequently moved from California to New York and restructured his band. There's no telling what might have come afterward from this quartet of two saxophonists, a drummer, and Hunter, the one-man guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist. ~ Bill Meredith For a lesser artist than 8-string guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter (who simultaneously plays lead and bass lines on his instrument) to attempt to cover an entire Bob Marley album song-for-song--in a jazz context, no less--would at best be embarrassing, at worst suicide. But in Hunter's hands NATTY DREAD becomes both a reverent homage to Marley and a highly accessible musical revelation in its own right. Hunter and his adventurous quartet organically reshape each track in a way that maintains the original's spirit while completely redefining it. So "Lively Up Yourself" becomes a shuffling soul-jazz shout-along, while Hunter's unaccompanied guitar virtually weeps beneath his sublime ornamentation on "No Woman, No Cry." "Them Belly Full" appears as a hungry bossa nova, and "Rebel Music" soaks in a riotous Hammond B3 organ sound courtesy of Hunter's electronically manipulated guitar. With NATTY DREAD's nod to the venerable past, Charlie Hunter clearly points listeners toward a brighter jazz future.

Entertainment Weekly (4/4/97, p.85) - "...replaces the taut reggae of the Wailers with small-band hipster swing..." - Rating: B+ Q (5/97, p.122) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Marley fans will love or loathe Hunter's daring, but this is inventive enough to sidestep moans." Down Beat (6/97, pp.50-51) - 3 stars (out of 5) - "...Hunter's quartet applies a variety of rhythms to Marley's compositions....[he] generally views the material through the prism of contemporary soul- or acid-jazz..." JazzTimes (4/97, p.65) - "...Hunter is one of the most consistent of the younger soul-jazzers, and he delivers again here..." The Beat (V.16 #3 1997, p.73) - "...the Charlie Hunter Quartet...succeeds with such soul-stirring impact that Robert Nesta Marley himself would likely give an imperious 'Jah Rastafari' shout-out if he heard this beautifully bluesy scrimshaw of NATTY DREAD..."

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