Self-produced her sophomore release, Telephone Game, engineered and mixed by Canadian uber-producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Barenaked Ladies, Spirit of the West, Rheostatics) Telephone Game Release Date: May 26, 2009 (Canada) July 4, 2009 (US)
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.
Awards
2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Round II Grand Prize Winner for the song “How Much In Love”
2006, 2007, 2008 ASCAP Plus Awards for Jazz Composition
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