Jazz Articles about Derrek Phillips

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Charlie Hunter Trio: Copperopolis

by Chris M. Slawecki
July 10, 2006

Charlie Hunter's first trio record since 2003's Friends Seen and Unseen balances his talents as a composer (he wrote or co-wrote every track except for the set-ending take of Monk's “Think of One ), as a bandleader, as a band member interplaying with drummer Derrek Phillips and John Ellis (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, Wurlitzer organ and melodica), and as lead guitar hot shot.

Hunter rips the lid off with the first cut, “Cueball Bobbin', which crackles with the ...

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Charlie Hunter Trio: Copperopolis

by AAJ Staff
April 24, 2006

First-time encounters with Charlie Hunter in a live setting usually leave listeners numb with the realization of how much music Hunter can make with one instrument. It's a sobering experience to see him play melody, chordal accompaniment and bass lines all at once on his custom eight-string guitar--which is obviously a most unnatural feat, even though he's been honing it for quite some time. The way he loses control of his facial muscles in the process, often succumbing to a ...

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The Charlie Hunter Trio: Copperopolis

by Doug Collette
February 8, 2006

Of the sessions with his trio that produced Copperopolis, guitar wunderkind Charlie Hunter says, “I was just feeling rocky I guess. Indeed, the first few seconds are the sound of the three players marshalling their collective strength, leader/guitarist at the fore, riffing and rocking to beat the band. In the midst of the shredding, however, the quirky character of the group and its leader remains evident, eventually superseding that unusually violent attack as the nine tracks continue to unfold.

Yet ...

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Charlie Hunter Trio: Copperopolis

by Paul Olson
February 5, 2006

Eight-string guitar whiz Charlie Hunter has done some especially interesting work recently--his Groundtruther experiments with percussionist Bobby Previte explored the limits of outside studio improvisation while his playing in the collective band Garage à Trois dug deep into New Orleans third-line groove and stacked rhythms. As good as those projects were, it's nice to see Hunter return to his main gig, the Charlie Hunter Trio, whose last CD, Friends Seen and Unseen (Ropeadope, 2004), seemed to set a standard for ...

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Charlie Hunter Trio: Copperopolis

by Mark F. Turner
February 4, 2006

To say that guitarist Charlie Hunter's been busy is an understatement. Constantly touring and collaborating with Garage à Trois and Groundtruther, he still found time to record Copperopolis with a trio that has been together for over five years. This followup to 2004's Friends Seen and Unseen finds Hunter with drummer Derrek Phillips and saxophonist John Ellis exploring a rock-oriented sound. The music still grooves, but with more bite and grit, marked by harder rhythms and edgier ...

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Charlie Hunter: Friends Seen and Unseen

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
October 15, 2004

Still mining inspiration from his relocation to New York, eight-string guitar wizard Charlie Hunter returns to the trio format for Friends Seen and Unseen. The trio offers plenty of open space, though with Hunter's unique style of playing bass lines and guitar melodies simultaneously, the group can often sound like a quartet. Hunter and his partners, saxophonist John Ellis and drummer Derrek Phillips, relish the opportunity to alternately hunker down in and float around the irresistible rhythms. The result is ...

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The Charlie Hunter Trio: Friends Seen and Unseen

by Doug Collette
July 9, 2004

Charlie Hunter is groove incarnate. Whether in his own groups, as a member of Garage a Trois, in duet with Bobby Previte, or reuniting with TJ Kirk (all this activity in the past year), this master of the eight-string guitar radiates an infectious joy that permeates his own playing as well as the musicianship of those around him. On much of his new album, Friends Seen and Unseen , Hunter sets the stage for his two partners, in just the ...