NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Musician and producer Jack DeBoe recalls the time many years ago when he fully grasped the sheer musical ability of his new friend, Louis Cato.
DeBoe and Cato were playing a gig in Boston when DeBoe got up from his drum kit for a break. Cato, playing bass, soon sat down at the drums, continued to play the bass with his left hand, put a drumstick in his right hand to hit the cymbals and drums and used his feet to play the kick and the high hat. Then he sang a song.
He wasn't showing off. He was just expressing himself.
鈥淗e always puts the music first and not any sort of virtuosic performance or demonstration,鈥 says DeBoe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like you鈥檙e not going to look at an octopus and say, 鈥楬ey, you鈥檙e showing off!' No, that鈥檚 an octopus. They鈥檝e got eight arms. You can鈥檛 be mad at them for that.鈥
Cato's remarkable musical gifts are on show this summer with his second album, 鈥淩eflections,鈥 which turned into a way to express himself while his regular day gig as bandleader of 鈥淭he Late Show With Stephen Colbert鈥
As you might expect, the album is a labor of love. All but one song is written by Cato and on one tune alone, he's credited with acoustic guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, seed shaker, concert bass drum, lead vocals and background vocals.
鈥淚鈥檓 kind of a bit of a do-it myself kind of personality,鈥 Cato says. 鈥淚鈥檓 a curious person and the puzzle of soundscape just invites all of my curiosity.鈥
The new album is quite different from his 2017 debut, 鈥淪tarting Now,鈥 in which he showcased 鈥渆verything I could possibly do.鈥 With 鈥淩eflections,鈥 he let go of the bells and whistles. 鈥淲hat is the most laid bare, honest version of this song that I wrote?鈥 was the approach.
The album veers from folk to funk with soul and Latin influences. features a duet with Elizabeth Ziman of Elizabeth & The Catapult, while 鈥滳utie Baby" is a sweet lullaby. It comes out Friday.
鈥淗e鈥檚 grown quite a bit and lived more of his life, gathered more experiences and has more of a story that he wants to share with the world,鈥 says DeBoe, who helped produce both albums.
The eight tracks on 鈥淩eflections鈥 include one cover, 鈥淢iss You鈥 by The Rolling Stones, a nod to the weekly covers Cato releases on his social media. He uses it to keep his musical arranger muscles strong, wondering, for instance, how a Beatles song might sound if recorded in Motown.
鈥淚鈥檓 really fascinated by this concept that a really well-written song can live in a lot of genres and styles,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was important for me to have a cover on the record, just one where I sort of take that approach.鈥
It might seem as if Cato can play anything 鈥 a musical octopus 鈥 but he鈥檚 quick to point out there are some instruments that baffle him, like when he tried out his sister鈥檚 oboe as a kid.
鈥淢y attention span doesn鈥檛 always match my curiosity,鈥 he says, laughing. 鈥淭he gateway to entry just to not sound like a duck is about a year. And I didn鈥檛 have that kind of attention span to be perfectly honest.鈥
Cato has been part of Colbert鈥檚 鈥淟ate Show鈥 from the start. Original bandleader called him up to ask if he鈥檇 help craft the theme song even before the show went on the air. He was then asked to join the show鈥檚 band and took over from Batiste last year, having had what he calls a 鈥渇ront-row seat鈥 to how to do it well.
鈥淚 take it as my job to maintain engagement with the audience,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e keep the energy in the room up.鈥 He's even discussed the role with David Letterman's bandleader, Paul Shaffer.
It鈥檚 a job that requires Cato to think fast on his feet. Colbert often asks his band leader questions, like 鈥淲hat do you do to stay healthy, Louis?鈥 or 鈥淲hat are you giving up for Lent?鈥 Their mutual respect is evident: 鈥淚 started working for a boss and met a friend along the way,鈥 says Cato.
One obvious benefit to such a late night perch is the musical guest who sits in with the band, like St. Vincent or Joe Walsh. James Taylor is a frequent visitor, someone Cato calls 鈥渁 titanic, creative, superpower.鈥
Cato's love of music was shown early, when his mother brought home a drum set when he was 2. He later was given an acoustic guitar and when the strings burst, he learned to play bass on it.
He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston but left to become a gigging musician. He worked with John Legend, Talib Kweli, A Tribe Called Quest, Jack White and toured with Bobby McFerrin. He became a musical Swiss Army knife, someone who was hired instead of five or six musicians.
Cato must balance a lot as bandleader, from picking something for the guest horn players to finding a chunk of a well-known funk song because many in the audience are tourists. His go-tos are often Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin and, in a nod to his predecessor, the sounds of New Orleans.
On 鈥淭he Late Show,鈥 the irony is that millions of viewers rarely get to hear the band perform a whole song through. Usually, they take viewers in and out of commercials, often with a big finish before a new guest is unveiled.
鈥淲hen the cameras are not on, it sort of feels like you鈥檝e just transitioned from like 鈥楲ights, camera, action!鈥 into a speakeasy,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole concert in between commercial breaks and it鈥檚 just for us.鈥
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Mark Kennedy is at
