Duo

Leon Parker, Charlie Hunter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: March 23, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00000I8UN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,958 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #63 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Acid Jazz
  • #98 in Music > Jazz > Jazz Jam Bands

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Guitarist Charlie Hunter and percussionist Leon Parker have both made names for themselves by producing jazz that is both inventive and invigorating. And while both have done much to redefine the role of their respective instruments--Hunter by recasting his guitar as a bass, guitar, and Hammond B3 organ; Parker by removing himself from behind the kit, taking the opportunity to whack any available surface--the jazz on Duo is bracing in its simplicity and its stripped-down allegiance to the notion of swinging in and all around the groove. Parker and Hunter come off here as the young, groovy virtuosos they are more than the genre-stretching explorers many see them as. But because Duo is so good, so listenable, so finger-poppin' cool, it doesn't matter how the artists are viewed, but rather, that they are heard. And this disc demands to be heard, preferably at substantial volume. Recorded live without overdubs, Duo rushes from idea to idea with boundless energy and enthusiasm. Parker is all over his drums while Hunter's amazing vocabulary of guitar sounds is even more astounding in this pared-down setting. Recommended. --S. Duda

From Jazziz

Hybridization could be a middle name for Charlie Hunter, wizardly wielder of an eight-string setup that allows its owner to play guitar and bass parts simultaneously, and to occasionally ape the sound of a B-3 organ. He's also a masterful manipulator of projects melding jazz with other genres. Hunter slammed Monk with funk for the T. J. Kirk band, and on his own, has variously dipped into groove rock, Bob Marley's reggae, and touches of bebop. Duo has the guitarist collaborating with simpatico drummer Leon Parker, the fellow Brooklynite whose résumé includes work with Jacky Terrasson and a couple of discs as a leader. It's a sometimes surprising pairing that offers the familiar pleasures of hunter's playing in a stripped-down setting. The two, sensibly enough, mix it up from the start, seldom lingering on any style for more than one track. The Afro-Cuban rhythms and zippy melody line of the opening "Mean Streak," lit by brooding congas and a snare-drum solo, are immediately followed by the deep swing of "Belief," a tune from Parker's album of the same name. The loping "Do That Then" drops hints of "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" and "It Ain't Necessarily So," while Hunter turns up the echo for a haunting version of "You Don't Know What Love Is" that's all blue mood. Hunter and Parker, strongly supportive of one another without becoming intrusive, offer several other unexpected diversions, including an elegant, understated reading of the Beach Boys' ballad "Don't Talk." The gospel-tinged "Recess" is the session's only misstep, as a light-funk groove rather abruptly shifts into a slamming shuffle, and just as suddenly switches back. The change in feel comes off as arbitrary and inorganic. It's hard to argue with any of the rest. Your feet certainly won't.

--- Philip Booth, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An acquired taste in jazz, December 30, 1999

By 

Mark Nason - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duo (Audio CD)

Charlie Hunter is an incredible jazz guitar player. His style is not for every jazz fan however. On certain tracks like "Recess", if you close your eyes, you'd be convinced that you are listening to a Hammond B3 organ. The only instruments used on this album are drums and guitar. Hunter uses an 8 string guitar (3 bass strings and 5 regular strings). It is with this guitar (and a number of guitar pedals) that he can trick our ears into hearing an organ. "Recess" alone, makes this recording worthwhile. I wrote "acquired" because Hunter is an original. He is not a standard jazz guitarist (just check out an older recording of Hunter on "Bing Bing Bing" where he does a jazz rendition of Nivana's "Come As You Are"). If you're looking for something original that grew from classic jazz roots, this may be for you. Just put it on the CD player, sit back and close your eyes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Impression, March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Duo (Audio CD)

I'm listening to this disc for the first time as I type this review. Charlie Hunter is nothing short of amazing. This is a great release, although I don't think he'll ever top the Les Claypool produced first release by the Charlie Hunter Trio.

Even my friends who don't like jazz like Hunter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best...., June 19, 2010

By 

K. Smith (san francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Duo (MP3 Download)

I have probably over 3000 CDs, and a ridiculous number of downloaded tracks. This is one of the best albums I have ever purchased. It is definitely an acquired taste, but both of these artists are incredible in their own right. Try out a few tracks first, but I believe it to be one of the best....