Charlie Warren

---

Just as Charlie Warren's bass playing is powerful and understated, so is Charlie the man. He could show you a list of credentials as long as your arm (or even better, as long as HIS arm) attesting to his accomplishments in music, but he inevitably opts to let his music do the talking. Yet when it's time to put on his professor's cap, he can talk music with the best of them.

As a music teacher (Cal State University at Fullerton) he brings an uncommon degree of practical experience, stylistic diversity, passion for music history, and pure intelligence to his job. His students are in good hands.

As a performer he is the consummate professional. A true "bass man" he is the master of both the string bass and tuba, and can step right into the fast lane with either of them in just about any style you can imagine: jazz, classical, country, ethnic ...all with a complete depth of understanding of the idiom. Best of all, Charlie possesses that most sought-after quality a bassist can have: the ability to make the other players around him sound better. How does he do it? I don't know. But he does.

I first met Charlie nearly twenty years ago at Disneyland. He was playing with the band there that included Doug Mattocks, John Jorgenson, and Dick Hardwick. It later evolved to include Raul Reynoso and Paul Shelasky. That group has always impressed me as one of the most talented and versatile I've ever known, and they've always played styles of music which I particularly love.

When Bob Wilson and I needed a bass for our CD "Bodega Sessions," Charlie Warren was the first player who came to mind. Since Bob and I were not actively involved in performing, we did not have a regular bassist. My long association with (and admiration for) the Rhythm Brothers, aka Thunder Mountain Boys, aka Mainstreet Maniacs, ...the band from Disneyland mentioned above ...led me to ask Charlie to participate in our recording project. We had to schedule the recording sessions around another project he was involved in: playing tuba on the soundtrack of the remake of "Fantasia." This guy is a pro. Thanks for helping us with our CD, Charlie.

...Rick Shubb, 1999