Rain Shadows Bruno Heinen & James Kitchman

• 1 Warm Valley 05:13
• 2 End of Summer 05:16
• 3 Snowed In with Cedar Walton 04:05
• 4 Electrical Storm 03:09
• 5 Rain Shadows 03:05
• 6 Dune Movement 03:38
• 7 Cold Light of Morning 04:55
• 8 Bliss 03:24
• Total Runtime 32:45

Info for Rain Shadows

Musical synergy was evident from the first two notes of Thelonious Monk’s ‘Bemsha Swing’ that were played by guitarist James Kitchman and pianist Bruno Heinen without any count-in, prior discussion, or eye contact. This was the opening night of a monthly residency held at Kansas Smitty’s jazz bar in East London in 2017. The duo has since developed a common improvisational language which takes influence from the chronology of great guitar/piano duos in jazz: Jim Hall and Bill Evans; through to Fred Hersh and Julian Lage.

"The album features compositions by each of us, interspersed with free improvisations. We wanted to capture the musical dialogue and rapport that we’ve developed whilst keeping a feeling of focussed freedom. Our compositional styles come together through a shared harmonic language, reminiscent of composer Charles Ives and the period of early twentieth century music at which tonality was reaching breaking point and beginning to unravel. The album travels across a spectrum of moods on its path; from bright optimism to the murky depths of despair and back again.”

Their debut album ‘Rain Shadows’ – a carefully balanced brew of original compositions and improvisations is due for release in 2022.

“Demonstrating that originality doesn’t have to be complicated” (The Observer, on Bruno Heinen)

“Huge amounts of style and panache” (BBC Radio 3, on James Kitchman)

James Kitchman, guitar
Bruno Heinen, piano, keyboards

James Kitchman
London-based guitarist James Kitchman hails from the forsaken realm of Northumberland. Described by All About Jazz as possessing ‘an exalted lyricism and a sophisticated grasp of harmony’, he is recognised as one of the most distinctive and sought-after jazz guitarists of his generation.

Projects have encompassed a broad array of musical styles and disciplines; he co-led the Southern Cone Quintet’s take on Argentinian, Chilean and Uruguayan folk music; he was a part of the Orpheus Sinfonia in Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O’Regan’s electro-acoustic opera; and in 2020, released a guitar/vocal album as Kitchman / Schmidt exploring the Anglo/American folk songs of the Appalachian mountains.

Kitchman frequently appears at prestigious venues in collaboration with UK and international artists, including work with The Cinematic Orchestra, and The Libertines among others. His latest recording ‘First Quartet’ (Ubuntu Music) has been played by BBC Radio 3, Jazz FM, & Worldwide FM, whilst receiving critical acclaim. Recognised for carrying his distinctive voice across all his work, Kitchman is in continual pursuit of artistic development.

Bruno Heinen
Professor of jazz piano and composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Bruno has worked with artists such as Shabaka Hutchings, Eska, Julian Siegel, Denys Baptiste and Reem Kelani amongst others.

Coming from three generations of classical musicians, Bruno started playing piano at the age of four. He started composing pieces early on and was introduced to the world of jazz through the music of Bill Evans by his uncle (jazz pianist Johannes Heinen) in his late teens. His compositional voice has been informed by his love of composers from Duke Ellington to Béla Bártok and from Wayne Shorter to György Ligeti.

His quartet The W (Ubuntu Music) features Heidi Vogel (Cinematic Orchestra), Andrea Di Biase (Kenny Wheeler) and Gene Calderazzo (Pharoah Sanders). They have recently released their debut recording to critical acclaim; the Independent describes him as “a consistently intelligent linking voice”, a fair summation of the way in which he brings these four unique musicians together through his original compositions.

In 2019 he was awarded an AHRC-funded practice-based PhD at the RNCM with the title 'Counterpoint in jazz piano with specific relation to the solo work of Fred Hersch'.

Bruno has written for groups ranging from two pianos and percussion (for a project with Pete Saberton), to classical string ensemble (for a commission in 2017 from the Camerata Alma Viva). In 2009, Bruno was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Composers Award.

He recently held the piano chair for two performances of Bernstein's Wonderful Town at the Barbican Centre with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. The performances were recorded and released on ‘LSO Live’.

This album contains no booklet.