Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Charnett Moffett: The Bridge

Charnett Moffett: The Bridge

By Franz A. Matzner
April 18, 2013
View read count

The sound of Charnett Moffett's bass resonates almost instantly straight to the depths of the soul. Over his career, Moffett has played in a tremendous variety of settings and explored seemingly every avenue, alley, and obscure landscape of both the upright and electric bass. Now with his first solo bass CD, The Bridge, audiences can experience Moffett's artisanship in its most concentrated form.

Comprised of 20 pieces, The Bridge covers a lot of territory, acting as a portrait of Moffett's musical experience. Included on the album are touchstones to the many stages of his long career, from his early work with

Wynton Marsalis

trumpet
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Wynton Marsalis to his run with the Manhattan Jazz Quartet, to his explosive experiments as a bandleader, as well as his partnership with

McCoy Tyner

piano
1938 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">McCoy Tyner. However, though touching on these various aspects of his development, it is not a simple march through time, but instead a distillation of the various components into a captivating whole.

Moffett begins with a blistering take on "Caravan," followed immediately by "Eleanor Rigby" which in Moffett's hands undergoes a kind of sublimation that exposes the devastating salience of the original's commentary on the human condition. This ability to pair down and purify represents one of Moffett's signature abilities which he applies throughout The Bridge. A second powerful example is his brief 44-second rendition of "Nature Boy." Boldly approaching this classic, Moffett inverts the more usual jazz methodology of expanding on a tune's basic parts to instead render it into its most essential, emotive elements.

The remaining 18 selections continue this pattern, tapping both icons of the jazz repertoire, like

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus' "Haitian Fight Song" and a medley of

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk works, and pop tunes like

Sting

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Sting's "Fragile." Moffett also contributes 8 original compositions that provide some additional standout moments, such as the Middle Eastern-themed piece "Kalengo" on which Moffett integrates pizzicato and bowed techniques in a virtuoso display. In fact, Moffett's bow work on this and several other pieces, including Miles Davis' "All Blues" and the closing, electric-tinged "Free Your Mind," represent some of the most redolent passages on the album.

No recording can capture the distinct and uncannily haunting sound of Moffett's tone when experienced live, but The Bridge is an exceptionally actualized statement delivered by the practiced hand of a master during a resurgence of his creative powers. (It should be noted that The Bridge will be followed closely by an ensemble album, and was previewed by a marathon run of solo performances in New York.)

In the end, as impressive as Moffett's technical facility on the bass and compositional talents are, it is his emotive clarity, the ability to cut to the core, that ultimately captures the imagination and moves the listener's inner being. His is a rare capacity to reach out—sometimes with only one perfectly articulated note—to touch the deepest aspects of our spirits and carry us forward.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Caravan; Eleanor Rigby; Black Codes; Fragile; Haitian Fight Song; Kalengo; Bow Song; Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho Rolling in the Deep; Skip Hop; The Slump; Monks Medley Round Midnight, Well You Neednt and Rhythm A Ning; Oversun; Swinging Etude; Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit; Truth; The Bridge Solo Bass Works; Nature Boy; Things Aint What They Used To Be; All Blues; Free Your Mind; Bonus Video The Bridge Solo Bass Works

Personnel

Charnett Moffett

bass

Charnett Moffett: Bass

Album information

Title: The Bridge | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Motema Music

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Spiritualized, Connie Crothers, Alle...
< Previous

Introducing Yasuhiro Yoshigaki's Orq...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.