Born: September 20, 1983 Primary Instrument: Piano
Welcome!
Los Angeles-based pianist and composer Kait Dunton's first album, Real & Imagined has been met with excitement and high accolades since its release in 2008. Recorded after completing her Masters of Music in Jazz Piano Performance from the University of North Texas, Real & Imagined is an ear-opening adventure through Kait’s whimsical yet rhythmic and deeply-felt compositional style. Kait's original music blends elements of jazz, Latin, folk, and groove genres into a fresh new improvisational and compositional voice. “She throws cold water on any notion that the piano/bass/drums format is an exhausted one,” writes S. Victor Aaron of Jazz.com. As a whole, Kait’s musical personality is defined by her unusual, lyrical compositions and arrangements, as well as her radiant improvisational energy on the bandstand. Real & Imagined features Ross Pederson on the drums and Daniel Foose on the bass.
Recently, Kait was highlighted as one of “Ten Future Female Jazz Stars” on Jazz.com, and this fall, she began work towards her DMA in Jazz Studies at USC’s Thornton School of Music, studying under Alan Pasqua. Before returning to her home town of Los Angeles, Kait was a Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas for two years, during which time she led a 10- piece contemporary electric ensemble and ran a daily Jazz Piano Fundamentals class. In addition to her teaching duties, Kait had the opportunity to perform and rehearse with classic big bands and Latin jazz ensemble, tour the Southeast with a 10-piece fusion band, and perform her original music in various settings. In 2006, she attended the Banff Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in Alberta, Canada, an international music residency led by Dave Douglas. It was here that she composed and performed her most adventurous compositions to date, and set the bar for her current through-composed and imaginative compositional style. In addition to her original music, Kait composes adventurous arrangements of jazz standards, including an arrangement of “Stella by Starlight” for UNT’s jazz trombone octet, The U-Tubes, which was performed at the 2008 Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Competition. She has studied under and performed with a number of jazz notables, including Lynn Seaton, Steve Wiest, Dan Haerle, & Stefan Karlsson, and now plays with some of L.A.’s top call musicians.
“She throws cold water on any notion that the piano/bass/drums format is an exhausted one,” S. Victor Aaron of Jazz.com
“Real & Imagined is one of the top two or three jazz records I’ve heard put out by anybody in the past year, a statement I don’t make lightly” - S. Victor Aaron, Jazz.com, AUGUST 2009
“Kait Dunton has placed herself firmly into the arena of new young composers who are writing and performing cutting-edge modern jazz... Real & Imagined is a tour de force of textures and colors that...give the listener a real sense of journey and surprise” - Steve Wiest, trombonist & composer, JULY 2009
“Kait’s approach is at once cerebral yet sensual... Her unified musical expression couples finesse with inspired drive and superb taste,” ” HERB WONG, jazz critic and radio host MARCH, 2009
“Pianist/Composer Kait Dunton breathes new life into the form…” - Mark Saleski, Jazz .com APRIL 20, 2009
“Dunton's compositions are consistently well-developed and hard to get out of your mind… She throws cold water on any notion that the piano/bass/drums format is an exhausted one,” ” Victor Aaron, Something Else! APRIL 21, 2009
“Phase/FAZE” from Real & Imagined selected by Ted Gioia to be Jazz .com Song of the Day! APRIL 19, 2009
