Kris Tiner & Cathlene Pineda’s Sung is a deeply intimate record by this trumpet and piano duo from Southern California; every moment of this chamber jazz recording reflects a close personal connection between the two musicians.
Trumpeter Tiner and pianist Pineda have been playing music together for more than 15 years, first in Pineda’s quartet and also in other LA avant garde and indie jazz groups. They’ve been playing live as a duo for some time now as well, and have now released their debut. Sung is beautifully recorded and superbly blends the duo’s influences, particularly Ellington, Charlie Haden and Kenny Wheeler from jazz and Chopin and Stravinsky from the classical realm.
I hear Wheeler’s influence particularly on the opening two tracks, “Wheeler Song” and “LPJ.” The former, obviously; Tiner wrote this lyrical ballad in honor of one of his major influences and mentors, while Pineda’s playing has a strong classical feel to it. Pineda wrote the latter after the death of a dear childhood friend. Tiner plays the melody on this one with what sounds like some kind of a cup mute, which mimics what I think of when I think of Wheeler’s later recordings. Both are just lovely pieces.
That just scratches the surface. Tiner’s “Sung,” the title track, is a questing tune with lovely somber colors, that he wrote a quarter century ago in honor of the teacher who inspired him to compose music. The first half ends with Charlie Haden’s elegiac “Silence” which Tiner plays mostly in the trumpet’s lower register for a particularly earthy effect.
Tiner’s playing on the warm “New Build” to me evokes some of Ralph Alessi’s controlled, emotive style. It and others in the second half of the program that Pineda wrote in the wake of the terrible fires in the L.A. area in January 2025; this one is a hopeful reflection of the way the Altadena community took care of each other in the aftermath. The others — “PreInterPost,” “Something Has Shifted” and “Displaced” all deal with the fires and their consequences in various ways. Throughout this period, Pineda has been dealing with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, and struggles with an insurance company to pay for mitigation at her family’s home, which was spared by the fire by heavily damaged by smoke and toxic chemical residues, all of which was documented by The New York Times.
The entire album is a fine example of the power of music to … not to heal, that’s a cliché … but to help both the performer and the listener to process all kinds of emotions. Sung is emotionally charged in many ways, and I find listening to it a balm and an encouragement to keep moving forward.
(Orenda Records, 2026)
Kris Tiner | website | Insta | Facebook |
Cathlene Pineda | website | Insta | Facebook |
