Back in the 1980s, when the jazz "young lions" movement (beginning with Wynton) took off, it seemed like horn and piano trios were everywhere. Not that there's anything wrong with these venerable configurations, but the music — did all of it have to fit into Stanley Crouch's idea of 'acceptable?' Sure, I'm fully aware of the economies of the situation, but the 47th iteration of a trio dashing off "Blue Monk?" Boring!
Well, this is not the '80s and pianist Kait Dunton isn't part of anybody's marketing strategy. What she is is a composer of highly original tunes that put a totally fresh spin on the piano trio world. This is not your ordinary group blowing through a set of changes.
Real & Imagined begins with a perfect example of what drew me in. "Machine 2" is...well, I honestly don't know what the heck it is. The piece starts off with a rapid-fire ostinato that shifts through a series of chords. Dunton keeps the left hand in that mode, paring down the right to a minimum of melodic content that she then goes on to rebuild. In the background, the rhythm section skitters along, drummer Ross Pederson and bassist Daniel Foose weaving in endless bit of inner detail. The variable tempos and time signatures impart a sort of exuberant energy that's hard to ignore.
This is not the say that Real & Imagined lacks for moments of introspection. The title track does what all great instrumental music accomplishes — it tells a story. At it's beginning, the train of thought has just begun and maybe the outcome is a little uncertain. As the composition progresses, there is discovery at every turn. The explosion of emotion just before the song's end seems barely contained. Fill in your own personal details here, because you've heard this story before. It just wasn't told in this way.
For my ears, the musical centerpiece here is Phase/Faze. This takes Dunton's "new form" jazz trio and smashes it headlong into the expansive pop of latter-year Bruce Hornsby. It's the kind of fun and exhilarating instrumental work that more jazz musicians might take on if they'd recognize that not all pop music is "the enemy."
You know, for years I've had this problem with the physical categorization of some of the music in my collection. How do you properly label the music of The Bad Plus, Medeski, Martin & Wood and (now) Kait Dunton? Is it jazz? Does it even matter? Maybe I'll just start a new shelf: "Great Stuff."
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