Kit Downes Trio
Kit Downes (p) Calum Gourlay (b) James Madden (d)
Pianist/composer Kit Downes exploded onto the British Jazz Scene playing with the band Empirical, taking him through Europe and America, and then with Troyka, Fraud and Acoustic Ladyland. He then went on to win the BBC Jazz Award for Rising Star in 2008, as well as a Yamaha Scholorship in 2009. Now, two years on, Kit has moved on to his own trio project and this debut album sees him developing as a strong voice both as a performer and composer. Joined by his two Royal Academy colleagues award winning bassist Calum Gourlay and rising drum star James Maddren the music displays a level of understanding and intelligence between players that can only come from working closely together for a number of years. They read each other perfectly.
The band has spent these years developing their own personal sound. The music is immediately arresting and stands repeated listening. It uses melody, inspired from a range of sources ranging from Bela Bartok to Keith Jarrett to Rufus Wainwright, and endeavours both to celebrate the classic piano trio tradition as well as develop it. They have recorded live sessions for BBC Jazz on 3 as well as playing at the London Jazz Festival, Cheltenham Jazz festival and Glasgow Jazz Festival.
“Downes seems to have become everyone's favourite young pianist. His slightly impressionistic originals are unpretentiously brilliant and full of subtle touches. Downes, bassist Calum Gourlay and drummer James Maddren are all players to watch.” - Dave Gelly, Observer
"British pianist Kit Downes, formerly of Empirical, is beginning to get the kind of enthusiastic attention Gwilym Simcock did on his emergence a few years before. Downes is more of a choosy, patient storyteller, and if one of his distinctive original themes only requires a handful of notes and a lot of spaces, he leaves it like that.” - John Fordham, The Gaurdian ****
Abbreviations: as alto sax; b acoustic bass ; bjo banjo; bsax bass sax; cl clarinet, ct cornet; d drums; eb electric bass; eg electric guitar; fl flute; flg flugel horn; g guitar; org organ; p piano : sousa sousaphone; t = trumpet; tr trombone; ts tenor sax; viol violin; voc voice.