Artifact
Self-Released, 2022
8/10
The pianist and composer Kate Wyatt makes quite an impression on this debut album, where 6 originals and a Billy Strayhorn cover (“A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing”) take help from Lex French’s trumpet, Adrian Verdady’s bass and Jim Doxas’ drums.
The title track opens the listen with Wyatt’s warm keys alongside soulful trumpet and restrained drumming in the very cautious and reflective climate, and “Short Stories” follows with bouncy bass work and frisky keys that benefit much from Doxas’ acrobatic drumming.
In the middle, “Lhotse Face” offers a lively and dreamy delivery that builds into a very dynamic and flowing album highlight, while “Antepenultimate” finds an intimate place to reside that balances mature keys, and, later on, adventurous bass plucking.
The album exits on the nearly 10 minutes of “Duet”, where a gentle beginning leads into a very stylish version of modern jazz and finishes much too soon.
A very impressive first effort, Wyatt touches on intense, passionate and rhythmic ideas, and it makes for a very memorable and engaging peek into her very creative mind and precise execution.
Travels well with: Doxas Brothers- The Circle; Montréal Jazz Trio- Montréal Jazz Trio