Listen! presents...
James Kitchman & Bruno Heinen
Photo: Phelan Burgoyne
Raised in rural Northumberland, James Kitchman began making music at the age of six, first on piano, and by the age of ten he was playing electric guitar and learning Jimi Hendrix solos by ear and writing his own music.
In his teens James attended Newcastle College's Performance Academy where he developed an interest in jazz and improvisation. Primarily self-taught up until this point, he enrolled in an education programme at Sage Gateshead where he studied harmony and composition, as well as performing at the Gateshead International Jazz Festival.
At nineteen he won a scholarship to study on the jazz programme at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. On graduating James has become one of the most sought-after jazz guitarists, his work has encompassed a vast array of styles and carries a thread of eclecticism. James' current focus is firmly set on his own quartet, featuring Bruno Heinen, Tom McCredie, and Shane Forbes, and his empathic duo with Bruno Heinen.
"Huge amounts of style and panache" - BBC Radio 3
Bruno Heinen comes from three generations of classical musicians and began 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 (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 Gyorgy Ligeti.
He has worked with artists such as Shabaka Hutchings, Alice Zawadzki and Jean Toussaint and 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.
As a composer, Bruno has written for groups ranging from sextet to two pianos and percussion, and from big band to classical string ensemble. In 2009 was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Composers Award. He has released eleven albums under his own name and is Professor of Piano and Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
"eclectic, eccentric, unobtrusively erudite" - The Guardian
Unitarian Church, 5 Emmanuel Road, Cambridge CB1 1JW
Doors 7.30pm / music 8pm
£15 (+ £1.50 booking fee) in advance
www.wegottickets.com/listencambridge
£18 on the door (if available)
Saturday 8th June 2024