“TODD HUNTER TRIO/Eat, Drink, Play: Can you plow an old field a new way?  Piano man Hunter loves the classics.  He might play old school in his trio but the tunes are all original and don’t need to be familiar to instantly hook you.  Letting passion and chops lead the way, this long time piano man for Dionne Warwick has loads of experience at taking something mainstream and adding just the right amount of special sauce to keep listeners engaged.  A set that should be taking it’s place along side the piano jazz trio classics, this is a fine example of how to get it done. Hot stuff throughout. ”

“While these two CDs sound a bit different from one another--Dig It has a more intimate feel, and the brass sounds a bit softer and mellower, while Have a Nice Trip is a wilder, more rambunctious younger brother--Hunter firmly puts his signature sound and style up front in both recordings. First of all, he must love percussion. He employs quite a few drummers and percussionists on both CDs including Aaron Serfaty, Mike Gutierrez, Raymond Pounds (great name for a drummer!) and Cassio Duarte, and he always gives them plenty of space to run and create lots of excitement on stage. Second, he's a truly balanced pianist when it comes to sharing the stage. He never recedes into the background, plunking the odd key just to remind everyone he's still there. While he's extremely generous with his fellow musicians, his piano is also the beacon, and there's no doubt that the leader of this band is the guy sitting on the skinny wooden stool. ”

“Local pianist Todd Hunter makes his recording debut with a superb program of straight-ahead originals. The title track takes a traditional hard bop quintet through it's paces with an alignment that pulls closer to Horace Silver than any other direction. Hunter performs with a lively keyboard style that swings from start to finish. He gets admirable support on selected tracks from Phil Vieux on saxophones (alto,tenor and baritone) and bass clarinet, Brian Swartz on trumpet and Steve Baxter on trombone. Hunter's done a terrific job with the production. The timbales on "Theckla," for example, are recorded so that their presence is felt but never become intrusive. Songs like "Good Reverend Doctor" and "Left Foot, Right Foot" add a rhythmic twist to the program."The Hunter" employs hot front line work. Hunter's solo piano spots add a loose, swinging feeling to the program that blends blues with bop. Todd Hunter's debut represents a fine start with blue skies ahead.”

“Although all eight selections on this set are originals by pianist Todd Hunter, the music is very much in the hard bop genre of the 1960s, even when it is updated a bit. The instrumentation changes from track to track, so there are three piano trios and five songs that utilize a sextet or septet. Several of the songs are accessible enough to be potential standards if they were widely heard, including the driving "Dig It," the jazz waltz "I Don't Want the Wind," and "The Hunter." The musicians, some of the best in the Los Angeles area, include such fine players as tenor saxophonist Philippe Vieux, trumpeter Brian Swartz, bassist Jeff Littleton, and drummer Aaron Serfaty. All in all, this is a solid modern mainstream jazz set that shows that the state of the jazz scene in Los Angeles was strong in the late '90s.”