Charlie Hunter

If you could take John Scofield and stuff him in the back of a Hammond B3 console you might get something like the sounds Charlie Hunter coaxes from his guitar. (Actually, you'd probably end up with a broken organ and an injured musician, but you get the point.) Hunter is so good he can make other guitar players cry with envy, throw down their axes and switch to some lesser instrument, such as the bass. But he's got that covered, too! Originally transcribing the fancy-footwork basslines of organists like Jack McDuff, Hunter applied them to his custom 8-string guitar, and after what must have been years of practice came up with a way to play bass, rhythm and lead guitar lines all at once. His basslines may not be the most complex, but they're an entirely tasteful backing for his Leslie-effected, organ-like rhythm guitar and his stellar chromatic solos. The band performs groove-oriented jazz, with hints of funk, spicy Latin, and even reggae (Hunter's best work may have been his cover of Bob Marley's album, Natty Dread). A must-see live, Hunter's style keeps getting more and more diverse, while his albums get better and better.