Dec 11, 2013
2013 has been a wonderfully busy year for bassist Charnett Moffett. While he has been in demand since he left Juilliard to join the Wynton Marsalis Quintet at the age of 16, this year he was able to release two CDs of his own – the solo acoustic bass project The Bridge, and the family collaborative Spirit of Sound – while being an integral part of the Will Calhoun Trio (with the Living Colour drummer and pianist Marc Carey).
Appearing on over 200 recordings, Moffett is a veritable bass legend and has one of the most distinguished careers in jazz, working with innumerable icons of music including Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Tony Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Arturo Sandoval, Anita Baker, Stanley Jordan, Harry Connick, Jr., David Sanborn, Branford Marsalis and Bette Midler. Most recently he's been touring with vocal sensation Melody Gardot. Moffett recorded three CDs for the esteemed Blue Note label and six others on various labels before his path led him to the Motéma label, which just celebrated its tenth anniversary.
Our conversation gave him the chance to talk about his many collaborations over the years, as well as the great joy working with his family affords him. Podcast 396 features our talk, including musical selections from recent Moffett projects, including:
Charnett Moffett – “For Those Who Know” from Spirit of Sound.Pianist Marc
Carey has contributed his taletns to much of Charnett's work this
year, and Moffett tune find Charnett on both electric and a
acoustic bass, Carey on piano, Angela Moffett on tamoura and max
Moffett on drums.
Jana Herzen – “Spain (I
Remember)” from Passion of
a Lonely Heart. Motéma’s
owner is also a singer/songwriter and her 2012 release was a duo
set with Moffett that featured their take on a Chick Corea
classic.
Will Calhoun – “King Tut Strut” from Life in This World. This tune shows the chops of the elite drummer’s stellar trio release, with Marc Carey on pianoa nd Charnett on bass..
McCoy Tyner - "If I Were a Bell" from Land of the Giants. The greaty pianist was joined onstage for a number of years by Charnett, but this was their sole recording release - the band is Tyner on piano, Moffett on bass, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and Eric Harland on drums.
Kenny Garrett - "Song #8" from Happy People. Garrett and
Moffett have a relationship that goes back to the General Music
Project in the late Nineties. This 2002 release features Garrett on
sax, Moffett on bass, Vernell Davis on piano and Chris Dave on
drums. Jean Norris lends the vocals.