Pianist/Composer KAIT DUNTON
Debuts New Band, trioKAIT, with
Eponymous Electro-Acoustic Album
Available July 31 via Real & Imagined Music
Debuts New Band, trioKAIT, with
Eponymous Electro-Acoustic Album
Available July 31 via Real & Imagined Music
Eagerly defying genre boundaries with a fresh, inventive electro-acoustic sound, trioKAIT is
a piano trio for a random-access generation. On their self-titled
debut, (available on July 31), the funky and eclectic Los Angeles-based
trio - pianist Kait Dunton, electric bassist Cooper Appelt, and drummer Jake Reed -
shuffles wide-ranging influences and Dunton's unconventional
compositions into a refreshingly modern take on instrumental music that
is as uncategorizable as it is infectious.
On their first recording together, trioKAIT
shows off a cohesive group sound and an electrifying camaraderie that
takes most bands years to develop. A former member of the extended clan
of Brooklyn-based fusionistas Snarky Puppy, Dunton refers to trioKAIT
as a "family band," a spirit that shines through in their playful and
spontaneous interactions. Knowing her bandmates as well as she does -
Appelt was a classmate of the pianist in the renowned jazz program at
the University of North Texas; Reed was a classmate at USC - Dunton
composes music that takes full advantage of their individual strengths
and collective identity to forge an utterly singular sound.
Though
Dunton's fingers never stray from the keyboard of her acoustic piano,
there are echoes of electronic music throughout her writing for trioKAIT.
EDM, classic R&B, various transmutations of electronica, and modern
rock music all intermingle with jazz and classical influences on the
album, reflective of Dunton's out-of-the-box tastes and interests. Her
compositional focus is on storytelling rather than soloing, the
emotional rather than the cerebral.
"I
remember when there were real record stores, I would go hang out at the
listening stations and pick up CDs, even though I didn't know who
anybody was," Dunton recalls. Over the years those excursions nurtured a
collection stocked with artists as varied and influential as Vince
Guaraldi and J Dilla, Cannonball Adderley and Erykah Badu, Roy Hargrove
and Deadmau5. At the same time she was spending hours per day at the
piano, poring over sheet music by classical and jazz composers.
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Photo Credit: Peter Figen
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In
another form, "Ria" does have words - Dunton originally penned the song
as a soul ballad with lyrics under the title "Risk It All," but it's
here distilled into a slinky, expressive slow-burn instrumental piece.
The composer's love of Brazilian music emerges subtly in Reed's surging
rhythms on "Summer Solstice," and "Noraa" shines a brief spotlight on
both Reed's and Appelt's improvisational abilities. "Time Travel" then
harkens back to the heyday of Dave Brubeck with its ability to merge
shifting, complex time signatures with joyous, deceptively accessible
songcraft.
The
seductive groove of "Yes," driven by Appelt's robust, elastic bass, has
a neo-soul vibe in the vein of Robert Glasper's stylistic cross-overs,
while the frantic "50 Freeways" pays homage to the infamous traffic
snarls of L.A., which nonetheless feel like home to a native Angeleno
like Dunton. The title of "Outlook Good" perfectly captures the tune's
breezy, optimistic feel, with Dunton conjuring the laid-back melodicism
of a singer like James Taylor on the keys. "Love Lost" is equally
lyrical while coming from a more melancholy place, while the jaunty
"Wil's Theme" tips its hat to the album's engineer, Wil Anspach. The hip
hop-inflected "Custom" closes the album with its finest example of the
trio's ability to evoke electronic production through live acoustic
performance.
Growing
up in Los Angeles, Dunton was obsessed with the piano, she says, "from
the time I was old enough to reach the keys." But with no models for a
career in music, she thought of her passion as a hobby until she was
encouraged to pursue it further by teachers at the University of
Virginia, where she was majoring in Spanish. They helped her to put
together a last-minute tape to apply to the University of North Texas.
Immediately
upon arriving in the Lone Star state, Dunton made two life-changing
encounters. Among the first musicians she played with were Ross
Pederson, now an in-demand drummer with a stunning variety of artists,
and Michael League, founder of Snarky Puppy. "I'd never played with
people like that," Dunton says. "It completely blew my mind. I learned a
lot really fast."
In 2009, Dunton released her debut album, Real & Imagined,
which featured Pederson on drums and Daniel Foose on bass. She returned
home to earn her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of
Southern California Thornton School of Music, where she studied under
pianist Alan Pasqua and composer Vince Mendoza. While there, she
recorded her second release, Mountain Suite, with heavy-hitters
from the USC faculty, including Peter Erskine on drums, Bob Mintzer on
tenor sax, John Daversa on trumpet and Darek Oles on bass.
In
Appelt and Reed, Dunton has found collaborators who are as open-eared
and adventurous as she is. Both instrumentalists are active in a variety
of scenes in L.A., playing big band jazz, rock, R&B, and funk
music. As trioKAIT, they've made three tours of Germany
and presented a preview of the new album at the USC Women's Conference
last March. The trio's growing success is proving writer Don Heckman's
assessment of Dunton as "an extraordinary talent on the rise" as well as
her recognition by Jazz.com as one of "10 Future Female Jazz Stars."
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| trioKAIT: "Outlook Good" by Kait Dunton |
Kait Dunton · trioKAIT
Real & Imagined Music · Release Date: July 31, 2014
For more information on KAIT DUNTON, please visit: KaitDunton.com
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DL Media · 610-667-0501
Matthew Jurasek · matthew@dlmediamusic.com
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