One of the cardinal rules of a musician or group is to have a personal sound. Keyboardist Kait Dunton, with her long time working team of bassist Cooper Appell and husband/drummer Jake Reed have been able to achieve that goal, and its results of a long term musical/personal relationship were in abundance during the TrioKait’s 90 minute set at Bogie’s Tuesday night.
The trio’s performance of Dunton’s compositions were Exhibit A and B for the benefits of teamwork that only years of working together can provide. Things like communication, trust, spontaneity and encouragement were in display as the team dug into pieces with a fingerprint personal sound. Original material such as the smooth “50 Freeways” or “Summer Solstice” had a soulful vibe not unlike the Crusaders, but with Appell’s lurking bass line and the ebbing and flowing of the team in unison on the latter or the sharp hairpin turns guided by Reed on the former, the level of intricacy was taken to a higher level.
Unlike many current bands that either devolve into stagnant jam grooves or indulge in a mindless pattern of indulgent “mow, blow and go” solos, Dunton and her team make each solo not a focus on the artist but an important ingredient to the mix. Appell’s relentless bass lines served as a foundation for the percussive “Chrysocolla” while Dunton delivered rich explorations on her keyboards, mixing spacious chords with intricate and cheerfully laid out extrapolations. She provided cirrus clouds on the pastoral and soft “Frontier,” but even here, as throughout each song, the piece was not a single direction boulevard, but rather a collection of harrow streets, winding in various directions and angles with exciting new views, perspectives and colors with each turn.
Dunton was able to put her own stamp on a trio of covers as well. A take of “Wave” swayed delicately as Cooper and Reed swayed like Fred and Ginger, “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka was restrained, richly reflective and romantic and Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” was Monet soft with Reed’s brushes creating sands of time support and the three weaving in solos like threads on a Raphael tapestry.
Closing with the muscular and frantically charged “OCD,” Dunton and TrioKait flexed their collective muscles with verve and humor, brought out in a way that testifies to Solomon’s wisdom “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” The cord, and chords, were strong on the full mooned Tuesday night!
Upcoming shows at Bogie’s Bar include Carmen Grillo 10/28, Denny Seiwell 11/01, Peter Asher & Albert Lee 11/18 and Judith Owen w/ Leland Sklar 11/20