PRESS QUOTES "Everyone's favorite new pianist" "Stunning new jazz group from the UK"
"The music of last year's Mercury Prize nominee is neither flamboyant nor attention-craving, that is simply not Downes' way; but it does speak increasingly for itself. And on the evidence of Saturday's concert at Kings Place, to launch the new CD "Quiet Tiger," it is developing in new and fascinating directions". "Downes is 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.” Rising piano star Kit Downes’ debut album Golden (Basho) is a refreshingly unselfconscious navigation of the trio format which fizzes from the opening “Jump Minzi Jump” to the lush textures of the title track. Tribune “Golden is striking not only for his playing, but also for his compositions.. a brilliantly interactive trio. He’s a remarkably distinctive player. Inside or outside, his lines are full of the original and unexpected, with a logic of their own; and his stunning technique is matched by a rhythmic flexibility given full scope by his rapport with Gourlay and, especially, Maddren.” "Pianist Kit Downes's slender frame and shy demeanor hide a lightening musical intelligence and an engagingly slow-burn energy. " Ivan Hewitt, Sunday Telegraph The quality of writing and performance on this album so soon after the players' graduation demonstrates their huge potential and ensures that the album itself is one of the finest debut recordings of 2009. All About Jazz Read Full Article 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.” “Downes seems to have become everyone's favourite young pianist. These eight, 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 “Golden is striking not only for his playing, but also for his compositions.. a brilliantly interactive trio. He’s a remarkably distinctive player. Inside or outside, his lines are full of the original and unexpected, with a logic of their own; and his stunning technique is matched by a rhythmic flexibility given full scope by his rapport with Gourlay and, especially, Maddren.” Ray Comiskey, Irish Times **** "Pianist Kit Downes's slender frame and shy demeanor hide a lightening musical intelligence and an engagingly slow-burn energy. " "Downes offers a cultivated musical intelligence allied to a determination to find bracing things to say" Peter Vacher, Jazz UK 'A very skilled and fluid pianist, Downes is not only bursting with fresh ideas but has that rare ability to carry them off." Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise "I urge you to buy this disc – it really is not only the bee’s knees but the bee’s ankles, hips and all the other bee-like joints, too." “His development as a technician is nothing short of astonishing, and the originals from new album ‘Golden displayed an ability to build complex musical ideas from simple themes. This young man is a rising star no more - he has made it.” "a breathtaking improviser, and weaver of magical piano soundscapes, Kit Downes is world class" Helen Mayhew, Jazz FM "I urge you to buy this disc – it really is not only the bee’s knees but the bee’s ankles, hips and all the other bee-like joints, too." "a release that looks set to secure Downes' reputation as an accomplished composer and virtuoso improviser supremely comfortable inhabiting a contemporary acoustic piano setting" Dan Spicer, Jazzwise, August 2009 "an exceptional talent" Stuart Nicholson, The Observer Music Monthly 2009 "Virtuosity without showing off - The trio makes a cool, refined sound, overlaid with the soft patter of drummer James Maddren and punctuated by the deft, understated bass of Calum Gourlay. They're ideal partners for pianist Kit Downes, whose touch at first seemed as elfin and light as the man himself. This gig was a reminder of what makes him special…a hot virtuoso. **** Ivan Hewett, Telegraph 2008 "undams barline-leaping torrents of melody, egged on by left-hand nudges and slurs that testify to his world-class stature" John Fordham, Guardian 2008 BBC JAZZ AWARD WINNER "RISING STAR" “A brilliant soloist who builds ideas slowly into cascades of melodic ideas...His prodigious keyboard skills avoid obvious neo-bop tendencies with highly imaginative tunes and expansive, melodic solos.” Timeout Magazine 2008
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Photo: Russ's website
Check out Kit JazzFM Check out Kit at the Telegraph |
