feature photo: Peter Figen
Kait Dunton has been remarkably consistent as a pianist with chops-heavy grace and groove, but each album has a different angle to it.
Real & Imagined is her mind-blowing introduction, performed with an all-acoustic trio. Mountain Suite put her in the company of seasoned vets like Bob Mintzer and Peter Erskine. Dunton returned to the trio format but with an electric bass in unveiling her exciting new group trioKAIT.
Casual is trioKAIT’s jaunty, enjoyable set of cover interpretations and Dunton dived head first into the world of electronic keyboards for trioKAIT 2. She then temporarily put her trio aside to pay tribute to a mentor, John D’Earth, for Planet D’Earth, where D’Earth starred on trumpet.
Now, without any warning comes the live album. trioKAIT Live at the Blue Whale appears to continue the formula established by trioKait 2, with Dunton keeping her keys plugged in and with all but three of the ten tracks derived from that 2018 release. Nonetheless, there are at least a couple of revelations trioKAIT Live at the Blue Whale: one, the integrity of the compositions and the sheer musical ability holds up just fine on stage, thank you very much; and two, we get to hear how a few of the ‘acoustic era’ songs sound electrified.
“Summer Solstice” is one of the trio of tracks originally from trioKAIT. The video above (which is the performance that ends up on trioKAIT Live at the Blue Whale), provides a visual and audio witness to such a transformation.
“Solstice” is a mid-tempo groover, but it’s slowed down a tad for this rendition. Cooper Appelt’s elastic bass line and Reed’s slippery pulse are much as before, a rhythm section foundation where both showcase their skills well. The main twist in this plot is Dunton’s electric piano. She lets chords shimmer and float away and punches in a little grit at the right moments. But most of all, that soulful melody stays front and center.
So is this version better than the original? I’m not going out on a limb in saying that neither is superior to the other. They both benefit from strong composing and solid musicianship. And Kait Dunton delivers whether the delivery vehicle is a piano or a Fender Rhodes.
Order yourself a copy of trioKAIT Live at the Blue Whale from here.
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