Innovation

This is, perhaps needless to say, an unusual album, but not really an unexpected album.Charlie Hunter. Great jazz guitarist, obviously. I won't bore you with a rehash of his technical wizardry on the 8-string (or 7-string) guitar because there are plenty of paeans to that elsewhere. Here, Hunter is joined by Ernest Ranglin and Chinna Smith for a jazz-reggae kind of deal. That really shouldn't shock you, if you remember his album-long cover of Natty Dread. So, what's the deal here? I come to the album as a Charlie Hunter fanatic, a pretty big Ernest Ranglin fan, and only having passing familiarity with Smith. I'm a jazz fanatic, an occasional reggae fan, and Ranglin's just great. Pair Hunter with Ranglin, and I'm in.Does it work? Of course it works. Jazz and reggae go together. If they didn't, Hunter's Natty Dread album wouldn't have worked, and Ranglin's career wouldn't work. If you don't know Below the Bassline, go get it. Now. "Innovation"? It's good. The occasional bits of dub aren't really my thing, but that's a genre that isn't my thing, so don't judge by that, and it's mostly there for subtle, occasional shadings. Mostly, this is just three dudes playing some reggae-jazz. The song selection is interesting. You've got Rivers of Babylon. Check. Then, you've got some McCoy Tyner, with Passion Dance. I love McCoy Tyner, so that suits me. You also have some interesting stuff, like a reggae-jazz cover of What I Am. Yes, that Edie Brickell thing from the 1980s. Sure. Why not? After all, Hunter has been doing weird covers all along anyway.Put this on, and I'm happy to listen. Is it Hunter's best showcase? No. For that, you kind of what something more stripped down, and reggae isn't quite his natural element. He's a jazz-funk guy. He can play anything, including reggae, but he's at his best in a stripped-down setting playing some funky jazz. Ranglin? Always on point, but sharing with two other guitarists maybe isn't the best setting for him. Would I choose this over Below the Bassline? No. That's sort of where I am with Innovation. It's good. Put Charlie Hunter and Ernest Ranglin together and I'm going to listen. Sorry, Smith fans, but I can't comment as effectively. As a showcase for Hunter, my favorite albums remain his Duo album with Leon Parker, Friends Seen & Unseen and maybe a couple of others. Ranglin? Below the Bassline, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, and Innovation is sort of trying to find a middle ground between typical Hunter and Ranglin without letting either really shine.TJ Kirk had a little of that problem, with three guitarists, but Hunter, Schott and Bernard had more common ground, and a real sense of purpose, so it worked a little better, in my opinion.I know I sound like I'm bashing this album, even though, really, it's good. I'm just putting it up against the best works of Hunter and Ranglin separately, and as a big fan of both, this isn't the album towards which I'll steer you. If someone puts it on, will I complain? No. Do you need to seek it out, though? Not really. Ernest Ranglin alone does better what the album is trying to do, so unless you just need to hear what happens when these three get together, this is a for-completists-only type of album.

Per chi apprezza la musica piena di groove qui ce né veramente tanta dal primo all'ultimo brano. Magari per chi ancora non conoscesse questo straordinario chitarrista e musicista non è il primo cd da acquistare per apprezzare le sue infinite capacità strumentali ma la musica scorre via che è un vero piacere...grande