CAROLE PELLATT TRIO

Carole explains, “I started the Trio so that I could play songs I’ve always loved, by guitar players I admire and didn’t get a chance to play as often as I would have liked on my freelance gigs. With the trio I feel like a kid in a candy store. I can play tunes on my strat by great guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, then turn around and grab my steel string or nylon string and play a fingerstyle piece by Bruce Cockburn or a bossa by Jobim. We’ve done elaborate “Kronos Quartet” style arrangements of songs like Eleanor Rigby for nylon string, cello and congas. Sometimes we’ll play a piece that’s completely percussion. Other times we just want to groove and dig in to King Curtis’ version of “Ode To Billy Joe” or ”Them Changes”, or Freddie King’s “Hideaway”. I love that we can play really subtle acoustic pieces like Paul McCartney’s “Junk”, or Bruce Cockburn’s lyrical waltz “Salt, Sun and Time”. "

What’s interesting about the trio is the diverse crowd they attract. You’ll see people from all age groups attending their concerts. “That’s been an interesting thing to observe.” Carole reflects, “People of all ages are attracted to us because of the different styles we play. There seems to be something for everyone, and people are very curious about what the next song will be. They know we’ll be playing some songs they haven’t heard before, like “Coffaro’s Theme” by Bill Frisell or “Blues For All Space Cadets” by Joe Diorio. But then, we’ll hit them with “Message in a Bottle” by The Police or “Little Wing” by Jimi Hendrix. They are very open to whatever we may bring to the situation.”

It’s this colorful blend of music that allows Carole Pellatt Trio to play many different venues from The Phoenix Art Museum to the blues/rock venue The Rhythm Room.

Carole weaves these musical styles together with “behind the scenes” stories about the songs or the people who wrote them. And sometimes trio members share their own experiences related to learning these tunes. “People feel personally involved with the trio and the songs when they understand the history behind them.”

The early incarnation of Carole Pellatt Trio featured Carole on guitar, Dom Moio on drums and percussion and Bob Lashier on bass, cello and mandolin. When Bob was called out of town, Dwight Kilian stepped in on bass. "So now we have a revolving bass chair.", Carole explains. Using these two Bass players inspired Carole to form the highly unique quartet BONEYARD.

“These guys really keep me on my toes.” Carole quips when asked about her rhythm section. “They are accomplished jazz musicians who groove hard and completely understand the passion of playing rock and blues. I feel like I can bring Dom and Dwight any song and they always have interesting ideas for the arrangements. It’s a dream for me as a guitar player to be able to use all the different types of guitars I’ve come to know and love over the years.”