Kitamura was born in NYC, raised partially in Tokyo, worked as a journalist in Paris, Tokyo, and NY, including a stint in the Middle East as a Gulf War reporter. Add to it a childhood piano training at Juilliard Pre-College division, and the resulting weird mix might explain Kitamura's oddball improvisational and compositional style and her very late entry into the music scene. Highly active as a sideperson, she has performed and/or recorded with leading improvisers including Anthony Braxton, Reggie Workman, Steve Coleman, Jim Staley, Jay Clayton, Art Lande, and Taylor Ho Bynum, and can be heard on such albums as the critically acclaimed Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings release "Madeleine Dreams" (Firehouse 12 Records 2009), Jamie Baum's "Solace" (Sunnyside Records 2008), Steve Coleman's "Lucidarium" (Label Bleu 2004), and Laura Andel Electric Percussive Orchestra "In::tension:." (Rossbin Records October 2005).
She also co-leads Go-Zee-Lah, a Japanese-pop/rock-influenced improvising trio
featuring Yayoi Ikawa (piano) and Harris Eisenstadt (drums), which was featured this year at the legendary Vision Festival in NYC.
AllMusicGuide calls her "a major asset...Kitamura is an expressive vocalist who knows how to be quirky and eccentric but is also quite musical." She performs in the U.S. and in Europe. In New York City, she can often be found as sideperson or band leader at Roulette, the Stone, the Brecht Forum, the Jazz Gallery, the 55 Bar and the Local 269.
Performed and/or recorded with: Laura Andel Orchestra, Jamie Baum, Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Benton-C. (video
artist), Jay Clayton, Steve Coleman, Josef Daley, Erik Deutsch, Harris
Eisenstadt, Angie Eng (video artist), Francois Grillot,
Gerry Hemingway, Jason Hwang, Yayoi Ikawa, Mark Lamb (dance),
Art Lande, Mike McGinnis, Tony Moreno, Ikue Mori, Ras
Moshe, Kirk Nurock, Jessica Pavone, Reuben Radding, Angie Sanchez,
Ursel Schlicht, Jim Staley, Garth Stevenson, Take
Toriyama, Tomas Ulrich, Reggie Workman, and others.
Kitamura was born in NYC, raised partially in Tokyo, worked as a journalist in Paris, Tokyo, and NY, including a stint in the Middle East as a Gulf War reporter. Add to it a childhood piano training at Juilliard Pre-College division, and the resulting weird mix might explain Kitamura's oddball improvisational and compositional style and her very late entry into the music scene. Highly active as a sideperson, she has performed and/or recorded with leading improvisers including Anthony Braxton, Reggie Workman, Steve Coleman, Jim Staley, Jay Clayton, Art Lande, and Taylor Ho Bynum, and can be heard on such albums as the critically acclaimed Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings release "Madeleine Dreams" (Firehouse 12 Records 2009), Jamie Baum's "Solace" (Sunnyside Records 2008), Steve Coleman's "Lucidarium" (Label Bleu 2004), and Laura Andel Electric Percussive Orchestra "In::tension:." (Rossbin Records October 2005).