Kate Schutt

Kate Schutt At A Glance: • Singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer • Originally from Pennsylvania, now lives in Guelph, Ontario, Canada • At age 11, began studying with renowned educator and legendary guitarist John Dougherty • Harvard University grad, Magna Cum Laude, English Literature • Berklee College of Music Alum • 2007 & 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Winner in the Jazz Category • 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 ASCAP Plus Awards for Jazz Composition • A constant collaborator, Kate has worked with Justin Faulkner (Branford Marsalis) John Ellis (Jason Marsalis, Charlie Hunter), Terri Lyne Carrington (Herbie Hancock), Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Bill Frisell) • Self-produced her sophomore release, Telephone Game, engineered and mixed by Canadian uber-producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Barenaked Ladies, Rheostatics) You could call Kate Schutt a musical triathlete. She is a creative triple threat - a guitarist, producer and singer/songwriter of rare skill and originality. The sports analogy is fitting, given that her teenage prowess as an ice hockey and lacrosse player helped the Pennsylvania born and bred Schutt gain access to the hallowed halls of Harvard. Her other passion, music, then took over. After a rigorous education at the famed Berklee College of Music, Kate’s commitment to music became entrenched. Telephone Game, Kate’s self-produced second full-length album, is a remarkably lush, melodic record that deftly walks the line between pop, soul and jazz. This balancing act creates an uncanny sense of familiarity from the very first listen. A myriad of styles and influences, Telephone Game showcases Kate’s innate ability to write from various perspectives and in different voices. The lead track, “Take Everything”, is a smoldering, soulful song that pleads "Take everything, but leave me something: something I can forget you by.” Inspired by the Eastern seaboard power outage of 2003, “Blackout” possesses an unabashed rock vibe. Laced with chaotic yet calculated guitar distortion and feedback, it perfectly captures the east coast’s plunge into darkness. “Take Me with You” coasts along like a lost jazz standard until you get to the rock-ish bridge – all energetic power chords and motion. Kate pulls this off magically, naturally; many of her songs sound like one thing (retro jazz standards) that then morph into and out of another style (rock interludes, blues vamps, gypsy jazz meditations). Kate handpicked a “dream band” for Telephone Game. Her first choice for drums was the masterful Terri Lyne Carrington (Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Cassandra Wilson) and she’s one of the reasons why the record feels so good. Young lion pianist Orrin Evans (Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron) uses his formidable chops sparingly, subtly, and always in support of the lyric and the singer. Duane Andrews’s acoustic guitar serves as foil to Kate’s understated electric guitar work. Telephone Game features standout appearances by saxophonist John Ellis (Charlie Hunter, Jason Marsalis) and his horn section and by a trio of members from Kuumba, Harvard’s gospel choir. To preserve the vintage sound and vibe captured during the recording sessions, Kate committed to mixing the album analogue. She and Michael Phillip Wojewoda traveled to legendary producer Steve Addabbo’s Shelter Island Sound in New York for the final mixing and melding. Telephone Game was recorded, mixed and mastered in Toronto, Boston, New York and Nashville. Instrumentation Kate Schutt - guitar/vox, producer, arranger, canary-in-the-coal-mine At any given time, Schutt adds these players (and others) to her band: John Ellis, saxophones, NYC Alan Ferber, trombones, NYC Orrin Evans, piano, Philly Justin Faulkner, drums, Philly Shawn Pelton, drums, NYC Brandon Ross, guitar, NYC Madison Rast, bass, Philly Damian Erskine, bass, Portland, OR Paul Reddick, harmonica, Toronto, ON Kurt Swinghammer, guitar, Toronto, ON Duane Andrews, guitar, Newfoundland Patrick Boyle, trumpet, Newfoundland Jason Hunter, saxophone, Kincardine, ON Marc Rogers, bass, Toronto, ON Russ Boswell, bass, Toronto, ON Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.