TAXI

Charlie Ernst / Composer

It’s been said that Charlie Ernst has a multi-cultural, multi-genre music library lodged in his head. After several attempts to remove the obstruction, he decided to turn the affliction into a career. Over the past 20 years, he has established himself as a songwriter, composer, arranger, producer and performer.

Charlie’s music has been heard on all major broadcast networks as well as PBS, BET and A&E. His original scoring can be heard on the NAACP’s award winning documentaries "House On Fire", "Sister’s Keeper" and "Coming To Life". Charlie has also scored several independent films that some people saw. One of the highlights of Charlie’s career was scoring a segment for WNET Nature series "Wild TV" featuring a giant, dancing bumble bee. Director, Mustapha Khan, states “As a film director, I have had the privilege to work with some great musicians---Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Take 6, Joe Sample---and I consider Charlie Ernst to be on this same level…..Charlie is a world class composer and a brilliant performer.”

Some of Charlie’s original songs can be heard on the soundtrack to the movie "House Party", "Just An Illusion" by Najee, "Nancy Now" by Nancy Wilson, as well as several Sesame Street Productions.

Picture this, if you will….the crime scene - Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; the year – 2005; the accomplices - the cast of Sesame Street; the perpetrator – Bob McGrath; the victim: Charlie’s composition “Dancin’ Shoes”; the crime - complete and total soul-removal. For a better version of "Dancin’ Shoes", please refer to the Sesame Street Live production sung by Hoots the Owl. The REAL version can be heard sung by Bebe and Cece Winans surrounded by a bunch of fuzzy puppets.

As a seasoned (lightly) musician, Charlie’s versatility has allowed him to perform and record with a wide range of artists…… Chaka Khan, Martina McBride, Al Green, Gerry Mulligan, Phyllis Hyman and Grover Washington, Jr., to name a few. Charlie was associate conductor (guess he didn’t practice enough as a child) with the Broadway touring company of "Tommy", as well as the Broadway productions of "Oh, Calcutta", and "Me and Mrs. Jones".

Charlie resides in Hightstown, New Jersey in a house with his wife and three children and two cats