Charnett Moffett on KPFK’s Melting Pot: 07-10-2014
I first saw Charnett Moffett at Yoshi’s when he was playing in McCoy Tyner’s band. I knew his name and likely had heard a few records with his playing, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw that night. Pretty much from the moment he played his first note I was completely transfixed, such is the power of Charnett Moffett’s virtousic talent. A little less than two weeks ago, I had the great fortune to bring Charnett into the KPFK studios to record an interview and performance. He was in town performing at the Catalina Jazz Club and was good enough to come to the station shortly after arriving in Los Angeles. The experience is one I’ll treasure for the rest of my days. We spent almost three hours together, working on the sound of his two basses, taking a lunch break, collaboratively discussing the structure of the interview and changing course, in a true improvisatory spirit, when either of us felt it might be good to go a different way. It was truly a one-of-a-kind experience, especially because while he was performing I was essentially only a foot away from him. In the interview we discuss a bit about his upbringing and the influence of his father, Charles Moffett, quite a lot about his most recent album Spirit Of Sound (the interview features 5 songs from the album, and two live performances on piccolo and fretless bass of the tracks “Spirit Of Sound” and “Overpass”) as well as his general philosophy on making music and how it connects to the lives we lead. Many many inspiring words and sounds from a true master of his instrument and one of the all-time greats in my opinion on bass. Big thanks to Mary Ann Topper for her help in setting this up and of course to Charnett Moffett for his generosity, patience and exuberance while sharing the gifts of his time and music with us.