| Jazz |
But why the title “Keyboards”? It’s a celebration of retro rhythms and classic keyboards – specifically the Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ, and Clavinet. With Sean Hurley on bass and Jake Reed on drums, Kait and her band evoke the classic instrumental funk of the 70s, referencing Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, Richard Tee’s Stuff, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Weather Report, Earth, Wind & Fire, Hall and Oates, and Michael McDonald.
Once you’ve said that, you can start listening, and from the first few measures, your foot will start tapping to the rhythm, your head will start moving, and there you go, impossible to stay still, you’ll push the table aside and start dancing! Especially since the atmosphere of the 70s isn’t just on the cover of this album, but also in the arrangements.
“That feels like a lifetime ago,” Dunton says now, a mere five years later. “But now I have a recording studio in my house full of vintage keyboards. I feel like I can confidently call myself a keyboardist.”
Certainly, yes! Because being able to convey the taste of this music with such simplicity while preserving the groove of that era in a resolutely contemporary context is pure magic… And on top of that, with very personal compositions, it piques our curiosity and commands our respect.
“At this stage of my life, I’m really coming to realize what a joy it is to just play in a pocket – for the musicians and for the audience,” Dunton explains. “There’s a tendency in jazz to overcomplicate things or change too much instead of just hanging out in a groove. Weirdly, one of the hardest things to do is to do less. I think that really changed my thinking compositionally. I’ve learned that being inspired by a sound and coming up with a groove would be enough. I’ve also gotten better at understanding what the band will bring to the sound later, so I don’t have to overcomplicate it when I’m sitting there writing.”
Just like DownBeat magazine, Bayou Blue Radio succumbs to the charm of this album, leading the Paris-Move editorial team to give it a nice spot in the “Essential” albums category.
Thierry De Clemensat
Correspondent in USA
Bayou Blue News – Bayou Blue Radio – Paris-Move
PARIS-MOVE, June 29th 2023
::::::::::::::::::::::::::