Charlie Hunter

With this eponymous effort, guitarist Charlie Hunter continues the minimalist studio experimentation that he and percussionist Leon Parker spun together on the 1999 album, Duo. This time, though, the pair has expanded the concept to include a trio of percussionists. There's also Josh Roseman on trombone and Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone on several tracks. The drum section is an excellent idea, which allows Parker to shine on conga on the opening pair of tunes, while Robert Perkins shakes a mean tambourine on the funky "Two for Bleu" (which also features a wild solo by Apfelbaum). The midtempo reggae number "Cloud Splitter" contains the best solo by Roseman, an Al Grey-like turn with the plunger on his 'bone. On "Al Green," Parker and Hunter simmer like a classic organ-guitar trio, evoking both the secular and the gospel spirit of the good Reverend, and on Thelonious Monk's "Epistrophy," they head south with a tight Caribbean groove. The disc closes with a short, tender reading of Donny Hathaway's classic, "Someday We'll All Be Free." It's an appropriate piece, not only because of Hunter's ability to ring his dirty guitar like an electric piano, but because, like the late Hathaway, Hunter has the ability to take a sparse group with slick arrangements and make the ensemble sound larger than it is. --Mark Ruffin