Doors 7:45 PM, Music 8:30 PM – 2 sets of music
Line-up:
Bruno Heinen – Piano
Heidi Vogel – Voice
Andrea Di Biase – Double bass
Gene Calderazzo – Drum kit
Maria Chiara Argirò – Piano
About:
Drawing on twentieth century classical compositions, as well as the jazz tradition, Dr. Bruno Heinen is a German-born, London-based pianist and professor of jazz piano and composition at Trinity Laban conservatoire. Coming from three generations of classical musicians, Bruno started playing piano at the age of four. 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 work has been described by the Guardian as eclectic, eccentric and unobtrusively erudite, following on from his studies with John Taylor, Fred Hersch, György Kurtág, Sir Simon Rattle, and his doctoral investigation of improvised counterpoint.
His quartet, The W is a newly established contemporary jazz group. As vocalist for the Cinematic Orchestra for over 15 years and the go-to vocalist for acts such as Thundercat and Soweto Kinch, Heidi Vogel has long been a critics choice for her extraordinary voice and velvet tone. On drums is London-based New Yorker Gene Calderazzo, a leading figure on the international jazz scene whose vast portfolio includes work with Pharoah Sanders, Radiohead and Freddie Hubbard to name a few. On double bass is Italian Andrea Di Biase who has performed with many leading figures such as Norma Winstone and Kenny Wheeler. Like the four equal lines that make up the letter ‘W’, the four members of the group come together as one to create a perfectly balanced and compelling new sound. They are a band in the true sense of the word. They meet regularly, learning the music by heart and shaping Bruno’s distinctive compositions together.
Tonight they will be launching the new album inspired by Hungarian composer and pianist Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, which Bruno studied as a child. Bartok composed these books of short pieces as an educational tool to teach his own son at the piano. In this album, Bruno uses cells and ideas taken from book 6 of Bartók’s work, as well as lyrics in the form of quotes from Bartók himself, to create a new suite.
The album has been produced by acclaimed jazz/electronica artist Maria Chiara Argirò, with whom Bruno has also been working for many years in their two-piano project and who will feature as special guest for this concert.