Trumpeter Kris Tiner and pianist Cathlene Pineda have been playing music together for over 15 years, initially in Pineda’s quartet and also in groups led by LA avant-garde figurehead Vinny Golia and indie jazz producer Chris Schlarb. Over time, their deep friendship and intuitive musical connection quite naturally led them to the duet format. In concert appearances together they have explored original compositions, improvisations, and insightful arrangements of American jazz and folk song repertoire. Sung is the definitive statement of their duo music to date, featuring an exquisitely recorded collection of performances that seamlessly blend influences ranging from Ellington to Chopin, from Stravinsky to Kenny Wheeler.

Tiner and Pineda both attended California Institute of the Arts, where Pineda now co-directs the jazz program and teaches piano and composition. Her three previous quartet albums on Orenda Records have earned praise in DownBeat and the LA Times. Recent projects include collaborations with the LA Philharmonic, Weimar Film Institute, Big Show Dance Company, Angel City Jazz Festival, Merce Cunningham Dance Studio, the Skirball Center, and the Jane Goodall Institute. She has performed with Bobby Bradford, Art Lande, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Dave Douglas, and Jeff Parker. Her music is featured in the critically-acclaimed film, Jason Nash is Married, produced by Comedy Central Studios.

Tiner has toured and recorded with the Empty Cage Quartet (Clean Feed Records), Tin/Bag (Big Ego Records), and The Industrial Jazz Group (Innova Recordings). He studied with Wadada Leo Smith at CalArts, and collaborates with artists across the jazz and new music spectrum including Tatsuya Nakatani, Kraig Grady, Lisa Mezzacappa, and Lukas Ligeti. He has been featured at the FONT Festival of New Trumpet Music, Aperitivo in Concerto in Milan, Clean Feed Festival, Angel City Jazz Festival, Is That Jazz? Festival in Seattle, and the Gateshead Jazz Festival in the UK. Tiner directs the jazz program at Bakersfield College, and was recognized as California’s jazz educator of the year by CMEA in 2023.

The profound musical and personal connection between these two musicians can perhaps be traced to a shared understanding of the importance of balance in their artistic lives, teaching responsibilities, and family commitments. The beauty and tension that inevitably arise from the interplay of these roles has informed the music on Sung in a very direct and personal way.

The album begins with a collection of older works inspired by friends, mentors, and influences. Tiner’s “Wheeler Song” inhabits the harmonic language of trumpet hero Kenny Wheeler, while Pineda’s nostalgic and reflective “LPJ” was written after the passing of a dear childhood friend. Tiner wrote the title track “Sung” 25 years ago as a statement of gratitude to the teacher who first inspired him to compose music, Dr. Doug Davis. They close the first side of the LP with a heartfelt interpretation of “Silence”, written by jazz legend Charlie Haden, with whom they both studied at CalArts.

The compositions on the second side are more recent, telling a story of displacement and adapting to changing realities. Pineda and her family were forced out of their home in Altadena during the fires in January of 2025. Although the house survived, it had extensive soot and ash damage, as well as heavy metal contamination. Over the next nine months the family lived in hotels, moving 14 times as they looked for a more permanent room. In December, the New York Times published an extensive and damning article about the insurance company’s clear neglect toward the family’s safe return to their home.

Pineda wrote “New Build” during this time. It is a hopeful reflection of the incredible efforts by the Altadena community to take care of each other and stand together in rebuilding and remediation. Pineda’s “Pre/Inter/Post” follows, a solemn chorale that leads to a duo conversation full of unanswered questions. Tiner’s “Something Has Shifted” hints at quiet mysteries before unfolding into a frenetic yet tightly controlled improvisation. The album closes with “Displaced,” an Ellington-esque chorale that Pineda composed while living with her family in a one-room hotel. It expresses the feeling of stillness and static, of waiting for an answer that continues to be delayed.

Sung was recorded in Los Angeles in a single session in July of 2025. The recording was engineered and mixed by Talley Sherwood. The album is available on Orenda Records on all digital platforms and in a limited vinyl LP edition that includes liner notes by Josh Haden and a cover photo by Allen D. Glass.

SIDE A
Wheeler Song (3:58)
LPJ (4:20)
Sung (3:07)
Silence (6:30)

SIDE B
New Build (4:29)
Pre/Inter/Post (4:55)
Something Has Shifted (1:27)
Displaced (2:09)

Tracks A1, A3, B3 by Kris Tiner © Kris Tiner Music, ASCAP
Tracks A2, B1, B2, B4 by Cathlene Pineda © BeanTrees Music, ASCAP
Track A4 by Charlie Haden © Liberation Music, ASCAP

Recorded on July 25, 2025 at Tritone Recording in Glendale, CA.
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Talley Sherwood.

Cover photograph by Allen D. Glass II.

This album was funded in part by a grant from the Levan Center for the Humanities.

Kris Tiner & Cathlene PinedaSung

Kris Tiner & Cathlene Pineda
Sung