Internet 

 

US Radio Stations Airplay 

        Radio add date 4/11/2006

JazzWeek - Debuts at #50  on 6/12/06

CMJ #1 add for the week of 4/11/2006

CMJ #34 for the week of 5/7/2006

113+ Total Stations "In Play" as of 6/4/06

27+ In "Medium" to "Heavy" Rotation as of 6/4/06

 

Reviews

 

Nashville City Paper

Charnett Moffett is a bass wizard and master musician equally comfortable in a leadership or complementary role. He divides his time on this session between delivering dazzling licks, accompaniment and solos, and establishing the direction for the main group that includes pianist/synthesizer player Stephen Scott and drummers Eric McPherson or Amit Shamir. Moffett spearheads them during responses to and complementary passages for soprano saxophonist Aaron Spencer, vocalist Maria Sarton-Spencer, and also musically leads them through his rigorous originals like "Icon Blues," "Kings and Queens," and "Mr. O.C." While these aren't lengthy pieces (none are longer than five minutes), Moffett's writing establishes ample space for Scott's fluid playing, but overall he emphasizes trio cohesion and interaction rather than sheer technical facility. That's also a hallmark of Moffett's own approach, whether playing standard acoustic, fretless, piccolo or electric bass. He has a disciplined, economic style, but displays when necessary the amazing speed, thick tone and overall virtuoso talent that stamps him as a monster player.  

- Nashville City Paper - Ron Wynn  3/06

 

Jazz Society of Oregon

Moffett is one of those touted young lions who has grown into his promise since his early days with Wynton. He is a monster bassist who can play both upright and electric with equal ease, jumping between hard bop and funk with nary a blink. He is also a fine composer, with the ability to groove and solo like a madman. He is more tempered than his early days, which means he can still work the fretboard with fleet fingers but he knows when to stay mellow and when to push forward. Here he plays all his own compositions, and they all fit his diverse style. The disc starts with a couple of swing tunes, including his "Icon Blues," which, with its bass melody, will remind some of "So What." The more contemporary tunes aren't quite as effective as the more straight ahead numbers. "PTL" is impressive in Moffett's varied voices on acoustic, fretless electric, and piccolo basses, but the mild Caribbean groove is less effective. More compelling is the "Free Raga," which impressively shows off Moffett's quick hands and experimentation with foreign tones, and bleeds into a world music. He's backed by a great band that features Stephen Scott on piano, one of the most underrated keyboardists in the genre. Moffett sings on "Enjoy Your Life" and his voice and lyrics are odd on a tune that sounds like a late Weather Report tune. More interesting is his take on the "Star Spangled Banner," which is highly electric and an obvious ode to Jimi Hendrix's version. The final bonus track, the kickin' "RAS" is a funk groover to the Nth degree. It's not the most fluid album, but it shows off a talent that needs to be heard often.

- Jazz Society of Oregon - Kyle O'Brien  4/06

 

All About Jazz CA

Bassist Charnett Moffett's Internet is so chock full of diverse and eclectic playing that it should include a textbook companion.  Almost every style of bass playing on practically every type of bass is displayed on this engrossing release.  His acoustic work in the trio format ranges from the dramatic and intricate ("G.E.M.") to the funky and crisp ("Icon Blues").  Moffett's technique on the solo extravaganza "Coral" is blistering and blister producing.  With most of the songs ranging in and around a radio friendly time (and as a result should be actively played by radio stations), Moffett explores many territories in relatively short bursts of time.  The free flight "Jubilant" has a welcome Middle Eastern influence.  Likewise, "Happy Dreams" and "Free Raga" features remarkable fretless bass work mixed in with entrancing percussion work and lyrical melodies.  But Moffett can get down with it as well, as a heavy and thick "Enjoy Your Life" proves.  The funk minus brass continues with "RAS."  Moffett covers all of the bass-ics on this thoroughly informative, explorative release. 

- All About Jazz CA - George Harris  4/06

 

JazzTimes Magazine

During his solos with the McCoy Tyner trio, bassist Charnett Moffett will invariably startle purists by pulling out his bow and slapping the strings down by the bridge while fingering notes on the neck with his left hand.  It's an unorthodox, percussive technique that relates more to the Brazilian berimbau than the acoustic bass.  But as Moffett says, "Why not!  Play what's in your heart, play what you feel.  That's the way I see it."

 That's precisely the attitude that the adventurous, multidirectional bassist rakes on Internet, his ninth release as a leader and second for Piadrum.  On this wildly diverse collection of originals, Moffett works the bow-slapping technique into the fabric of the title track, and unaccompanied showcase on the upright bass.  The Juilliard-trained bassist strikes a distinctly classical mode with "Kings and Queens," then takes a decidedly punk stance on the raucous "RAS," full of edgy vocal, slamming backbeats and funky thumb-slapping pyrotechnics on the electric bass.  He taps into the heightened energy of John Coltrane's great rhythm section on the modal "G.E.M." - an acronym for (Jimmy) Garrison, Elvin (Jones) and McCoy (Tyner) - then pays tribute to his former employer Ornette Coleman on "Mr. O.C.," which he performs on fretless electric bass.  The blazing "Happy Dreams," a dazzling chops showcase on fretless electric, is teeming with Jaco Pastorius-isms, while his slippery glissandos on the piccolo bass throughout "Free Raga,"  an Indian-flavored duet with drummer Amit Shamir, recall U. Shrinivas' extraordinary electric mandolin playing with Remember Shakti. 

On "Icon Blues, "Moffett's solidly walking 4/4 lines on the upright honor the jazz-bass tradition; then he takes the same acoustic bass to places that Ray Brown never dreamed of on a raucous, Hendrixian rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," complete with distortion and wah-wah pedals.  "I'm always looking for new ways to play the bass or discover something on the instrument," says the veteran bassist who made his recording debut with his father, drummer Charles Moffett, at the age of 7.  "The bass is a machine and it has its limitations.  Believe me, I've tried to get things out of there that the instrument won't give.  I guess that's why I got into the whole effects thing, because I'm always reaching for something else."

Despite the highly electric nature of his new album, Moffett maintains, "There's still a lot of music that I haven't tapped into yet, and it's just a matter of doing it when the opportunities are made available."  One rare opportunity that recently came his way was to perform Oscar Pettiford's "Tricorism" at a Jazz at Lincoln Center tribute to the iconic Cuban bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez.  "He's unbelievable!" says the 39-year-old Moffett.  "He's 87, and he's playing faster with the bow than I am.  I just hope that I'm still around at that age, let alone playing the bass that well."

While Moffett continues to juggle engagements with Tyner and the Manhattan Jazz Quintet, a group he's been associated with for more than 20 years, he hopes to find time to perform his own music this year.  "I'm kind of stretched out all over the place right now, but I'd like to be able to focus more on my own band in the future," he says.  "I'd love to take a group out, do a world tour and share this music.  Because what I'm really trying to do is bring people together on the planet through music.  That's part of my calling here in life."

- JazzTimes Magazine - Bill Milkowski (Google Bass - Charnett Moffett's Internet Searches   4/06)

 

All About Jazz NY

Every now and then a bass player emerges as a front man and the instrument takes a whole new personality, as on Internet, the new release from Charnett Moffett, who wrote every tune on the album but one, an effects laden take on "The Star Spangled Banner" obviously inspired by Jimi Hendrix. 

Moffett uses acoustic, electric, fretless and piccolo basses (often more than one at a time) and explores the limitless realm of music as he goes along.

Listen to the playfulness of "Icon Blues", a three-minute traditional-sounding tune that features Moffett with the simple backup of piano and drums and then notice how he completely switches gears on the following tune "PTL", in which he leads with a very hummable melody on fretless bass, providing the backing himself with his acoustic and a little help from piano and drums. 

One of the most impressive moments on the disc is "Jubilant", which features the wordless vocals of Maria Sartori-Spencer, who delivers her contralto voice in an inspired, serene style that becomes a second voice to Moffett's instrument. 

On the title track, he plays acoustic with no accompaniment at all, demonstrating incredible speed on a melody that begins with a computer-like sequence of notes that also has a bit of Middle Eastern feel.  Also pay attention to "Enjoy Your Life", an electric tune in which the bassist also handles the vocals - the lyrics don't have much to say but the music is rich and inspiring.

Internet is an impressive album with new discoveries even after repeated listening. 

- All About Jazz NY - Ernest Barteldes

 

Jazzweek.com

Bassist Charnett Moffett is a known entity to most of us thanks to his work with such varied leaders as Ornette Coleman, Stanley Jordan and Wynton Marsalis.  As a leader he recorded for Blue Note in the late-'80s, Evidence in the '90s, and now for Piadrum.  Internet, his second for the label, features Moffett with pianist Stephen Scott and Drummers Amit Shamir or Eric McPherson in a variety of settings.  The results, however, are also mixed.  When the bassist sits down to his acoustic upright, there is a stronger sense of unity as the trio works through such Moffett post-bop tunes as "G.E.M." and "Kings And Queens."  When he straps on one of his electrics, things go awry with wanky bass lines dominating songs ("Free Raga" and "Rain Drops") that already tend to lack momentum.  One exception is the fusion and vocals (from guest Maria Sarotri-Spencer) workout called "Jubilant."  At its weaker moments, Internet sounds like a bass clinic, but there is no doubt about Moffett's ability.  As such, this would also make for a good programming pairing with the new Jaco Big Band. 

- Jazzweek.com - Tad Henrickson

 

Caribbean Life

New York--Ingenious bassist, Charnett Moffett, stood center stage at the Blue Note Jazz Club, surrounded by his accompaniment consisting of Mulgrew Miller on piano; drummer Eric McPherson and saxophonist Vincent Herring. Bass man, generally sideman, Moffett takes the lead and understands how to pull strings in order to cajole rapt respect from both his audience and his stringed instruments.

Charnett is a creative force. That is adeptly shown as he blends a bit of theatrics with a whole lot of musical aplomb. The room stirs as Moffett strokes his bass and his ensemble of acoustical arco and pizzicato guitars. The instruments jump to attention while Moffett coaxes from each willing instrument a haunting refrain. An acoustical magic takes place that turns the electrical instrument into a sitar when playing Free Raga from his new CD “Internet.” “Icon Blues,” “Jubilant,” and “Internet” follow among others; drawing sounds from his guitar that only a masterful magician can manifest.

Moffett picks up his bass and plays another song from “Internet” and the mood changes dramatically. He strokes; slow downward strokes, cruising, pushing the bass, making it jam. He switches to his electrical guitar making it zing, making it sing, while the piano speaks, joining as two, becoming one. The sax peels, accelerating, building. The drum beats, heart pounding -- building, stroking, faster, faster, harder, wilder. Rhythms collide; thumping, pounding, stroking fast, then faster and faster. It crescendos and explodes -- POW! The crowd gasps, sigh, and then slowly let their breath steady. It’s over. The music has climaxed. Moffett stands on stage, exhausted. Sweat pouring from his every pore, a slight smile adorns his face. He’s played his bolero; he’s spell bound his audience and left them eager for more.

“I chose the name Internet for my new CD, because it seemed apropos for the music I wanted to do on this particular project. I thought it was a catchy name and it had something to do with the play on names, ‘Internet,’ ‘Charnett,’ that kind of thing,” explained Charnett about his latest CD offering. “This is a jazz album but it is very open to other influences. No matter where you are in the world, there is one sky. That is the concept of this album, connecting people and music from all over the world together, like the Internet. I have traditional jazz and free jazz on the CD. There is folk, pop, rock. There are many forms of improvisation on this CD,” claims the rhythm player.

Born a child prodigy, in New York City, Moffett attended Juilliard and the Performing Arts at Manhattan College. The 39 year old bassist has been playing professionally for nearly 25 years. As a result, he is an exacting virtuoso who often leads as well as serves as sideman in the bands of Ornette Coleman and Wynton Marsalis. Charnett Moffett has proven to be a composer in his own right with “Internet” being his ninth CD. The songs on Internet are made up entirely of Moffett’s own compositions, except for his version of the Star Spangled Banner.

Moffett first started performing in his father’s band when at 8 years old he traveled with the Moffett band to Japan. Born into a family of musicians the recording “For the Love of Peace,” was primarily a family affair which he recorded in 2004 on Piadrum Records featuring his brothers Codaryl Cody Moffett on drums and Mondre Moffett on trumpet. The recording also featured Scott Brown on piano. Initially, Charnett, toured with the family band but eight years later, he found himself touring with Wynton Marsalis whom he remained with for a number of years. He went on to play with many other jazz musicians which included a 9 year stint with Ornette Coleman.

“Working with Ornette Coleman was wonderful. Coleman is an institution into himself. Wynton Marsalis is an incredible artist that strives for perfection and brings out the best in those who play with him. McCoy Tyner taught me how to groove in the environment and make the best of a situation. Tyner honed his craft with Coltrane. I even played with Art Blakey so I have had the opportunity to play with a lot of wonderful talent and each one has taught me something. I feel I have taught them something, too. As artists we learn from one another” stated Moffett.

“I believe a gift from a higher power put me on my road today in terms of the instruments I play. I started out on drums and played trumpet for a while and some piano. But the bass best expresses my voice since I also do some things vocally on “Internet” – songs like Enjoy your Life,” said the multi-talented musician who has also scored music for film.

“Having been on tour and traveling for the last 6 or 7 years, I get a view that you don’t often hear on the news. I think more positive things are happening then reported. It might be that music brings people together but personally I think in order to make progress we should focus on the human aspect and see cultures in a positive light. As I said, music brings people together, even if it’s only for a short period of time,” remarked Charnett of his world view. Moffett plans to tour with McCoy Tyner in upcoming months. “I have been forming my own band for eternity. I play with artists I felt comfortable with as part of the Charnett Moffett band” said the father of two. “My band is a work in progress. I continue to perform and sometimes I may do that in a solo capacity, in a trio format, as a quartet, sextet, or even octet,” he claimed.

“Life moves on and things change. Everything you do comes back to you. Each person knows whether they are in harmony with themselves irrespective of what others may say. Ultimately, each of us answers to our own heart.”

- Caribbean Life - Deardra Shuler 4/06

 

The Portland Skanner

Bassist Charnett Moffett brings a collection of  his basses for a happy jazz celebration.  He uses a basic trio of himself, pianist Stephen Scott and drummer Eric McPherson.  On two cuts, "Jubilant" and "Universal March," he uses drummer Amit Shamir and soprano saxophonist Aaron Spencer.  Maria Sartori Spencer sings a wordless vocal on "Jubilant."

The treat is hearing Moffett perform on several basses, including acoustic, fretless, piccolo and bass guitar. 

- The Portland Skanner (Dick's Picks) - Dick Bogle

 

JazzTimes Magazine

While Charnett Moffett's 2004 album For the Love of Peace was something of a family affair - since his brothers, sister and wife pitched in- the bassist sticks to a piano-trio format this time for all but two tracks.  The spotlight stays on Moffett, who switches between upright, fretless, piccolo basses and fretted bass guitar on the 17 tracks. 

"G.E.M." and "Icon Blues" pay tribute to John Coltrane's classic rhythm section and Ray Brown, respectively, and while each track might conjure memories of their honorees, Moffett is no mere imitator. His rock-solid tone, which evokes the authority of Mingus, sounds especially impressive. On piccolo bass he possesses the clarity of a guitarist, and his speed on the fretless bass is mind-boggling. All three instruments appear on "PTL," which sounds graceful and avoids the muddy pitfalls of such an arrangement.

But Internet occasionally sounds more like a seminar on bass solos instead of a set of tunes, especially on the fretless tracks. Some pieces get really repetitive, which only gets worse when Maria Sartori-Spencer adds wordless vocals ("Jubilant") or, worse yet, when Moffett himself sings simplistic lyrics.

Still, I have to admire his solo reading of "The Star-Spangled Banner," where Moffett adds distortion and wah-pedal to his upright and makes a bold statement that rivals Jimi Hendrix's version for guts and passion.

- JazzTimes Magazine - Mike Shanley    5/06

 

Cadence Magazine

Internet (Piadrum 601) features bassist Charnett Moffett with trio in a program that shows off his virtuosic ability on several basses, both acoustic and electric (G.E.M./Icon Blues/PTL/Kings and Queens/Coral/ Free Raga/ Jubilant/ Rain Drops/ Triumph/ Mr. O.C./ Wishful Thinking/ Happy Dreams/ Internet/ Universal March/ Enjoy Your Life/ Star-Spangled Banner/ RAS. 71:38).  His national anthem interpretation, a bonus track, comes from an earlier album and recalls the stirring performance that Jimi Hendrix gave the world many years ago at Woodstock.  The other songs are all originals, depicting a world wide web of impressions, from Tango, Celtic music, and the Middle East, to Monk and the Blues.  Moffett sings two numbers with emotions heightened, and introduces a lovely wordless vocal melody from Maria Sartori-Spencer.  Two tracks with soprano saxophone remain entirely forgettable, while the rest of the album presents this modern bassist in a welcome glow with universal appeal.  The album's title track and another one, both featuring Moffett exploring his music alone through his bass, carry the honors as session high points that demonstrate his superior technical virtuosity in no uncertain terms (Moffett, b, el b, b g, vcl: Stephen Scott, p, Synth: Eric McPherson, Amit Shamir, d; Scott Brown, J.S., p. Aaron Spencer, ss; Maria Sartori-Spencer, vcl. Aug. 27-28, 2005, Englewood, NJ).

- Cadence Magazine - Hodgepodge and Shorties    5/06

©Cadence Magazine 2006. Published by CADNOR Ltd.
All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of contents prohibited without
written permission from publisher (except use of short quotes, please
credit Cadence: www.cadencebuilding.com ph: 315-287-2852).

 

PopMatters

Listeners looking for more jazz than there was on Moffett’s previous set can certainly find it on this approachable but serious CD.  This is no complaint about the preceding collection, meant to be not jazz, but almost a family religious service, with music of such high class as is due the Man Upstairs.

For sustained jazz performances by the super-bass of Moffett, I suppose the places to go are still recordings of his work as a sideman, obviously with McCoy Tyner, and perhaps especially video footage of live gigs. Presumably, Moffett simply doesn’t regard himself—at least as yet—a musical creator on the same scale as his sometimes boss.

He doesn’t, however, stint himself, or the listener, in having Stephen Scott as pianist on so much of this basically piano-bass-drums trio set with augmentations. Scott’s gifts are plain, and reviews should mention when a pianist has a sound of his or her own.  We have to wait for this through Moffett’s fearsome strumming at the start, but “G.E.M.” soon lets us hear Moffett in support of a strong-swinging pianist. “Icon Blues” begins with Eric McPherson’s brushes, and then with that lovely drummer collaborating, there’s more bass for the Charnettophil: lovely theme, happy enough to let Scott’s alternation of synthesizer and piano passages be fun. Multi-tracking himself on piccolo bass, fretless bass, and acoustic bass, Charnett displays Caribbean ambitions on “PTL”, Scott doing ska-cum-reggae organ work before the big bass takes a solo with McPherson’s brushwork. Monty Alexander, eat your ackees! “Kings and Queens” has ambitions only in the direction of the stunning piano trio performance. “Coral” is a miniature for unaccompanied bass, with a melody like that of an 18th century operatic aria—for bass voice.  There is some lovely strumming-slapping of bass fiddle.

On “Free Raga”, Charnett seems to be asking some guitarist with sitar ambitions to eat his chuppatty out. Amit Shamir is on drums, and turns up again on “Jubilant”, which is more Indo-Jazz Fusions with Maria Sartori-Spencer delivering a hearty vocalise or indo-scat, and Aaron Spencer playing soprano saxophone. Charnett plays tribute to the blessed Pastorius on fretless bass, and hangs on to the same axe with happy result on “Rain Drops”, a trio number on which Scott generates electronic atmospheric swirls, as well as playing piano. On “Triumph”, the pianist goes sanctified Caribbean, shows knowledge of Bach, and swings a brilliant clean line over the empathic teamwork of Charnett-Eric bass-drums. He has a nice lean sound, and when he goes into the trendier sort of sub-Tyner passage-work, he sometimes achieves a joyous parody, sometimes selecting very telling lines. “Mr. O.C.” brings back the Pastorius-bass, with echo and introduced by more weather machine from a pianist able to keep company with his acoustic instrument long enough to add things. “Wishful Thinking” is piano trio with big acoustic bass again, nice piano, and some Bach piano over bass, before Charnett’s bow turns the same bull fiddle briefly oriental. Have the items discussed in this paragraph been a suite, and is “Happy Dreams” (echochambered fretless bass with background electronics) still a part of it? McPherson’s essential regardless, and Scott makes a stunning little entry among all the rubber-burning of the bouncing fretless bass.

And what about the acoustic bass performance with curious clicking noises, called “Internet”, but starting again in India, and proceeding to conjure a nice jazz theme with enough demonstration of Charnett’s prowess and its musicality to please potential listeners amazed by his doings with Tyner and Co.  “Universal March” brings back the soprano player, has a mysterious J.S. (Janet Shih?) on piano, and Charnett on piccolo bass. Everybody gets together for a conclusion to the Indo-Bach and whatever else the programme has gone into, Charnett doing a sort of blues guitarist thing at the beginning and in the end making this ensemble piece more telling.

Encores seem to start thereafter, Charnett repeatedly speech-singing with a deep resonance, like the late bassist-vocalist Major Holley, the words “enjoy your life”, with suggestions beyond mere hedonism. Well, he is a religious guy. The track numbered B2 is (deliberately, I hope) ghastly (as if “Enjoy Your Life” wasn’t banal enough!). Echoing a pretty bad BBC play set in Scotland and guest-starring Harvey Keitel, Charnett—like the guitarist in the working men’s club in that play—does “Star Spangled Banner”... but in, I presume, deliberate parody of Jimi Hendrix (and with sawing noises with strings on the fretboard which suggest he has an extra hand or two as well). “RAS” is the last title, with Scott Brown on piano, Charnett playing bass guitar and singing. I hope he’s joking, but the track’s so bad I won’t listen to it again: this is something which I cannot say about the 14 items which I do recommend are listened to.  This is neither a dull, nor a predictable record.

- PopMatters - Robert R. Calder  5/06

 

Jazz Improv Magazine

The modern mainstream jazz trio is capable of spanning generations as well as continents.  With Charnett Moffett's latest recording, we feel the universal appeal that his music delivers along with its magnetism.  In a program of 16 original compositions and one Jimi Hendrix-styled national anthem interpretation, Moffett covers all the bases.  His acoustic model walks and converses with arms wide open, while his electric basses pick up a soulful spirit to romp with. 

"Free Raga" allows Moffett to capture the allure and mystique of the East, as cultural preferences announce their authority.  With drummer Amit Shamir alongside, the bassist uses his many instruments to amplify deeply meditative material.  With fingers flying, Moffett matches the drummer's scattering sticks stroke for stroke in a lucid conversation of honor and devotion.  "Icon Blues" allows the acoustic trio to reach a polar opposite, with its down-home approach and and country charm.  Moffett sings on two tracks with a hip, urban sentiment that drives its message incessantly over fast-moving rhythm.  The uplifting power of his vocal selections proves mesmerizing. 

"Internet," the album's title track, comes with a theme that could derive from any country in the world.  Its majestic drive, which Moffett delivers along with acoustic bass, comes with built-in-emotion and a palette off colorful textures.  It's the album's high point.  The same kind of message comes from "Coral," which he also delivers strongly, alone with his acoustic bass.  The tow tracks with soprano saxophone don't fare as well.  Both carry an Irish air that proves universal, and one includes intriguing wordless vocals from Maria Sartori-Spencer.  However, both pieces eschew lyrical conversation in favor of happy-feet rhythms and light-hearted gestures. 

From the tango-esque Landscape of "Kings and Queens," to the lush, contemporary backdrop of "Happy Dreams" and the witty, Monkish nature of "Triumph," Moffett covers a considerable portion of the jazz spectrum.  Recommended, the bass tastes found on this release appeal to a broad audience: young, old, far, and wide. 

- Jazz Improv Magazine -  Jim Santella

 

Pasatiempo

Charnett Moffett is a virtuosic bassist who learned bandmanship during two-year stints with Wynton Marsalis' quintet (Moffett entering at age 16)  and Ornette Coleman, plus work with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Arturo Sandoval, and others.  Internet contains some fine interactional work, but it's overridingly a bass showcase.  One or two songs at a time is about right - perhaps the jazzy opener "G.E.M." and the tranquil "Rain Drops."  You have lots of choices here.  The album has whopping 17 tracks totaling more than 71 minutes, and everything but "Star-Spangled Banner" was composed by Moffett.  OK, therein lies a clue about what's wrong with this as an album.  The leader is all over the place stylewise, more or less depending on his instrument.  He is just amazing on whatever he plays, but when he chooses the electric piccolo bass, think funky guitar music, and on that Hendrix-inspired "Banner" he overuses a wah-wah/reverb effect.  The titles (including "Happy Dreams,""Jubilant," and "Enjoy Your Life") tell you how upbeat the theme is here, and I love that.  But when Moffett sings on a couple of the "jubilant" cuts toward the end, we have been escorted far from jazz.  I look forward to hearing more of the "jazz Moffett" when he plays in McCoy Tyner's septet at the Lensic Performing Arts Center this July.

- Pasatiempo -  Paul Weideman

 

OffBeat.com

Bassist Charnett Moffett knocked folks out at his appearance in New Orleans earlier this summer with leader/pianist McCoy Tyner. He danced with his upright bass, moving it around as if it was a less sizable and stately instrument. He swung it, plucked it, bowed it, slapped it and actually almost stole the show from the mighty McCoy. Here, Moffett enjoys the total freedom of a primarily trio setting, employing the acoustic bass as well as electric and fretless basses and the piccolo bass. He’s got technique to burn no matter his choice of axe or style, and he moves from the classically influenced “Coral”—an interlude of sorts on which he plays solo—to the funk of “Enjoy Your Life,” when he steps to the microphone to sing. Matching Moffett’s chameleon-like musical nature, Stephen Scott is constantly switching from piano to synthesizer to create different moods. All the material except for “The Star Spangled Banner” come from Moffett’s pen and deal successfully with varying moods, such as the rapid fire “Jubilant” with wordless vocals by Maria Satori-Spencer with Aaron Spencer on soprano sax, and the optimistic “Wishful Thinking.” Moffett’s vibrant personality and sense of playfulness shines through, particularly on “Icon Blues.” He, pianist Scott Brown and drummer Amit Shamir have tons of fun on the closer, the electrified, funkified, screamer “RAS.” Surprisingly, somehow, most of these cuts are quite short by jazz standards, which makes the album of 71:38 fly by.

- OffBeat.com - Geraldine Wyckoff  9/06

 

 

All Music Guide

Charnett Moffett is one of the greatest bassists of the early 21st century, a fact that is reinforced on every selection of this CD. Moffett completely dominates the music, which only has brief spots for pianist Stephen Scott. Every number except "The Star Spangled Banner" was penned by Moffett who does his best to give the date variety despite the constant emphasis on bass solos. Best among the selections are the jazz waltz "Coral" and the catchy "Jubilant," which has solid contributions by Aaron Spencer on soprano and singer Maria Sartori-Spencer. Other tunes include blues, one-chord vamps, fairly free improvs and a couple of very eccentric vocals by the leader. But overall, Internet is chiefly recommended to those who love the sound of the acoustic bass.

- AllMusic.com - Scott Yanow  3/07