Kate Schutt's music has a stripped-down intensity so rarely seen it's startling. She comes equipped with a Novax 8-string guitar/bass hybrid, a daredevil voice, and penchant for creating music that unabashedly genre hops.
Currently, Kate is packing the punches of her latest release the Paper Crown Project, on Wild Whip Records, released May 2005. Paper Crown is Kate’s fifth album and the second in her series of Limited Edition EPs featuring hand-made and hand-sewn artwork. The whole deal was done in Guelph, Ontario, Canada – Kate’s new home – with the help of Andrew McPherson, Noah 23, DMS, DJ Lucid, and Lewis Melville. The EP features Kate’s bird-like voice (akin to the hip stylings of Blossom Dearie), intelligent lyrics, dense harmonies, and Kate’s unhinged guitar playing. The music and the artwork has been getting attention on both sides of the border ...
www.kateschutt.com
Kate Schutt's music has a stripped-down intensity so rarely seen it's startling. Equipped with a Novax 8-string guitar / bass hybrid, a daredevil voice, and an eclectic repertoire of covers and original vocal jazz tunes, Schutt's jazz is subtle and sophisticated.
Currently in the studio, Schutt is mixing a new album entitled No Love Lost (to be released January 2007). The album is an ambitious project, produced by Schutt and recorded in both Guelph, Ontario (her adopted hometown) and Boston, Massachusetts. No Love Lost is an album of mature, original jazz songs featuring Schutt's expressive voice and phrasing -- backed by gypsy jazz guitar, muted trumpet, strings, drums, and seasoned guest vocalists. Standout tracks include the devastating "How Much in Love" (a song Nina Simone could have sung) and the romantic, Tom Waits-ian "The Moon Got Broken."
The Novax 8-string bass / guitar hybrid is Schutt's main axe now. Made legit by jazzer Charlie Hunter, the Novax is a complex instrument to say the least. At any given moment in a song, Schutt is playing bass lines, chordal grooves, or single line runs AND singing her heart out, wringing the emotion from a lyric. Backed by her dashing, smashing drummer Dave Jamrog (of the W.C. Handy-nominated Toni Lynn Washington band), her live show is riveting. Her June 2006 appearance at North By Northeast was standing-room-only and included a guest appearance by Toronto guitarist Kurt Swinghammer. Additionally, Schutt was featured in the Jazziz Magazine's July 2005 Women in Jazz issue.
Schutt's most recent full length project was Hits and Misses -- a compilation of (you guessed it) hits and misses from her back catalog of recordings. It is a delight. Although the originals are impressive, it is Schutt's interpretations of such songs as Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It?" that are haunting and surprising.