Home » Jazz News » Recording

James Hunter: "Minute by Minute"

Source:

View read count
James Hunter
James Hunter's new album Minute by Minute (Fantasy) is tremendously exciting. If you love R&B riffs and hooks and a raw soulful voice, this one has it all. As I write at WSJ.com today (go here), Hunter has faced his share of hardship. His soul survivor instincts owe much to his grandmother's R&B collection, particularly records by Ray Charles. [Photo above of James Hunter by Ruth Ward]

Hunter's voice has the same hurt and sass as Charles and Sam Cooke, and on his new album—produced by Gabriel Roth, co-founder of Daptone Records—he hits the mark on every track. Hunter was discovered by Van Morrison in Wales some years back and then Hunter toured with him.

Says Hunter: “What I learned from Van wasn't songwriting tricks but more of a performance thing. Van has a way of using the microphone like an instrument. He has a built-in compressor in his voice—delivering a consistent level of volume whether he's singing low or letting it all out."

This is my favorite no-nonsense blue-eyed soul album of the year thus far. It's hip, it snaps and, best of all, it's honest.  

 JazzWax tracks: On Tuesday, the James Hunter Six's Minute by Minute (Fantasy) will be available to sample and download. Until then, you can stream the entire album here for free.

As you know, I rarely post about albums in advance (no point torturing you). But I wanted to tell you about this discovery on the same day as my chat with Hunter at WSJ.com. Stick up a Post-it reminder to circle back on Tuesday, when tracks become active here.

JazzWax video: Here's a trailer that bundles track samples from Minute by Minute...

Continue Reading...

This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.

Tags



Comments

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.