Press Response To NEW LOVE (out 6.11.2021)
Selected as “Top 5 Jazz” for July 2021- Mezzo.TV
– Vote here for #1
“Charnett Moffett’s latest reminds us once again, that his quicksilver imagination matches the speed of his fingers.. there’s a tight synchronicity at play.. A dynamic, ever-shifting dialogue issues from their collaboration; it’s a conference of multifaceted tonalities and intuition.”
– Herb Boyd – Downbeat, July 2021
“Charnett Moffett’s astonishing bass command is evident throughout New Love… the music also brims with positivity. …The playing’s fresh and effervescent in the extreme… At every moment, the music registers as a high-level dialogue between wholly engaged participants. Also, like [Ornette] Coleman, Moffett possesses a gift for ear-catching melodies, as the jubilant “Swinging in the Realms” makes clear at the outset. When you’re not staggered by the leader’s light-speed runs and the interplay between him and his partners, you’re enchanted by the tune’s roller-coaster trajectory. ”
– Textura July 2021
“With his fretless electric bass he is constantly conquering new worlds, and in fact the American bassist Charnett Moffett is almost something of a living legend. For his new album “New Love” (Motéma / PIAS) he put together a completely new band, which starts as a trio and ends as a quartet – after all, the band leader also sings.”
– Rolf Thomas JAZZ THING – JUNE 2021
“MOFFETT explores the meanders of his musical memory and gives us his most intimate influences which have marked his career
until now. Note the subtle guitar accompaniment of JANA HERZEN and the saxophone and flute interventions of the excellent IRWIN HALL.
With [NEW LOVE], he affirms he is one of the best bassists on the American scene with musicians like Marcus Miller or Christian McBride…
My three favorite themes are: “Higher Dimensions” – “ETQ” – “Love for the People”
– Jean Luc Martin (JazzASeizHeur – read full article) – May 2021
“Charnett Moffett delivers a love letter to humanity with NEW LOVE”
– Bass Magazine
“[the music] sits at the intersection of swing, spiritual and free jazz …
it is music where the rhythm instruments take the melody and vocals hold the beat.”
– Ben Richmond AfroPop.org
Press Quotes for BRIGHT NEW DAY (Motema 2019)
“spiritual sounds, music from other cultures, funk, fusion and modern jazz… His virtuoso lines and figures
on the fretless electric bass have a vocal quality…. through hypnotic theme repetitions unfolds a magical effect.”
– Fono Forum (Germany) – Sept. 2019 – Four Stars.
“…he has long merited the accolade of one of the most stimulating bassists around. Here he initiates a new phase in his music… an enjoyable programme, mixing funkiness with floating lyricism.”
– Jazz Journal (UK) August -2019
“There is plenty to like about Charnett Moffett’s new quintet, especially his choice to concentrate solely
on fretless electric bass…. Compositions such as “O My God Elohim” and “Set It Free”
allow the intricacies of Moffett’s melodic style to shine through.”
– Downbeat – Sept 2019
“Moffett–who can impressively play every variety of acoustic and electric bass – plays only a fretless
electric instrument [on Bright New Day] to create a unique mix of jazz, folk, and chamber music.”
– Jazz Times – Sept 2019
“Takes jazz to some new places…An accomplished set from an accomplished cat, this is high water
mark listening music throughout.”
– Midwest Record – Sept 2019
“The ensemble has a mutable, constantly evolving quality.”
– Hot House – July 2019
“[Moffett shares his] limitless (and fretless) imagination.”
in studio performance/interview
– Gary Walker, WBGO – July 2019
Press Quotes for MUSIC FROM OUR SOUL (Motema 2017)
Jazz Times Article: Charnett Moffett: On Loss, Love & Vibrational Healing
“Charnett Moffett is a bass wonderman …[he] here plays hard and easily with
longtime friends. The music flows – it’s fun, in the moment and soulful.”
– DownBeat (4 stars) (July 2017)
“One of the 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2017 (So Far)”
– NY Observer (June 2017)
– Sounds of Timeless Jazz ( July 2017)
“A giant on his instrument and a stalwart figure in jazz, …[Music From Our Soul] capitalizes on his many strengths while also highlighting his varied musical exploits and excursions.”
– All About Jazz (June 2017)
“Moffett has assembled some incredible players on this album. The opening title track,
which features Sanders, is great, if too short, while a version of Miles Davis’s “So What”
– ArtsFuse (May 2017)
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“jaw-dropping virtuosity”
– JAZZIZ
FEATURES
THE SCOTSMAN: PROFILE ON NETTWORK TRIO ( JUNE 2015)
THE HERALD, SCOTLAND – 40 YEARS THE BASSIST (June 2015)
JAZZWISE: PREVIEW OF CM @ GLASGOW JAZZ FEST (June 2015)
LONDON JAZZ BLOG: REVIEW OF MONTREAL JAZZ FEST 2014
JAZZIZ FEATURE
JAZZ INSIDE FEATURE
DOWNBEAT FEATURE
Press Quotes for THE BRIDGE (Solo Bass Works)
Back at the Garden Stage, bassist Charnett Moffett kicked off the 10 Years of Motema Music celebration with 20 minutes of solo bass. It was a triumph of rhythm and dexterity, his nimble fingers reminiscent of Ron Carter…
– International Review of Music
It’s as mesmerizing as it is daring.
– Daily News (CA)
…proves that bass improvisations don’t have to be boring…On “The Bridge,” a new album of solo bass performances, Mr. Moffett and his string bass exalt such beloved tunes as “Round Midnight,” “Caravan” and “Eleanor Rigby.” His playing here…suggests that pianists and guitarists should stop acting as if they have a monopoly on unaccompanied solos that engage and entertain an audience.
– Wall Street Journal
If bassist Charnett Moffett’s new solo album The Bridge – just out from Motema – is anything like his solo show last night at Iridium, it’s phenomenal. Solo bass concerts are rare…as much as Moffett’s performance was a master class – he played enough tantalizing licks to fuel a year’s worth of shedding – it transcended the concept of a solo instrumental performance. It was just plain good music.
–Lucid Culture
The bassist Charnett Moffett has a new album, “The Bridge” (Motéma), that showcases his facility and musicality in a solo setting, finessing original pieces and choice covers.
– New York Times
…a solo performance of stunning virtuosity and imagination
– Jazz Wise Magazine UK
Great cutting-edge CD because of the world fusion he’s created.
– Chuy Varela, KCSM FM
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.
– All About Jazz.com
He is an utterly extraordinary jazz bass player and always has been….his musical mind is more than interesting enough to maintain attention and more than a little delight.
– Buffalo News
– Jazz De Gama