The Art Of Improvisation: Solo Bass Works
Whether as the leader or in a supportive role, Charnett Moffett’s intense and energetic solos inspire audience ovations around the world. Whether touring with his band or with his show-stopping solo bass project, Solo Bass Works, Charnett’s astounding virtuosity and heartfelt approach to performing have made him a favorite at jazz festivals worldwide.
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Appearing on over 200 recordings, Charnett Moffett is a veritable bass legend and has one of the most distinguished careers in jazz. His father, Charles was the drummer for the late great Ornette Coleman, which led to Charnett being raised among jazz royalty and being exposed to adventurous musical sounds even from the womb which may explain his intense and relentless creativity.
Charnett, who was named after his father Charles and mentor to be, Ornette, later in life became a first call bassist for his legendary namesake and remains today as one of the leading practitioners of Coleman’s famed Harmelodic philosophy of music making. Charnett brings Ornette’s philosophies to new generations by bringing a free jazz spirit to his own inventive (yet structured) music which includes elements of classic jazz, free jazz, bop, classical, world, rock, pop, trance and various indigenous sounds from around the globe. These many influences are reflected both in his group projects and in his truly unique solo show “Solo Bass Works” in which he somehow manages to evoke all of these influences in a most musical manner from his solo bass in ways that mesmerize audiences and defies expectations of what a bassist might achieve. His relentless quest for expanding the limits of the bass has led and Jazziz Magazine to comment that he has ‘jaw-dropping virtuosity”, and AllMusic.com to call him “one of the greatest bassists of the early 21st century.”
Charnett first appeared on a recording at age seven with the Moffett Family Band. At age 16 he attended Juilliard briefly and then left to join the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, kicking off a non-stop career 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, Bette Midler, Melody Gardot and so many more.
Charnett is on the multi-Grammy-winning Motéma Music label where he has recorded five albums since 2010, his newest recording, Music From Our Soul drops on May 17, 2017, and features an all-star cast – Pharaoh Sanders, Stanley Jordan, Cyrus Chestnut, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Victor Lewis and Mike Clark – all long-time collaborators from his thirty years as a lead recording artist. Charnett is available to teach workshops and to perform live in varying band configurations and solo.
