Kenny Wheeler

Kenny Wheeler

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Kenny Wheeler



Img_capt = Kenny Wheeler performing in 2007.
Img_size =
Landscape = yes
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1930|1|14
Toronto, Canada
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = Trumpet
Voice_type =
Genre = Avant-garde jazz
Post bop
Occupation = Composer
Trumpet player
Years_active =
Label =
Associated_acts = Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, CC, (born 14th January 1930, Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s.

Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he has also been active in free improvisation and has occasionally contributed to rock music recordings. Highly respected among his peers for his beautiful tone and extensive range on the trumpet and flugelhorn, Wheeler has written over one hundred compositions and is a skilled arranger for small groups and larger ensembles. His compositions blend lyrical melodies with a distinctive and ever changing harmonic palette.

He has recorded some twenty albums as a leader, and has recorded or performed with Paul Gonsalves, Dave Holland, John Taylor and Norma Winstone (as Azimuth), Anthony Braxton, Lee Konitz, Keith Jarrett, Theo Jörgensmann Quartet, David Sylvian, Steve Coleman, Spiritualized and the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, among others.

Biography

Growing up in Toronto, Wheeler began playing cornet at age 12, and became interested in jazz in his mid-teens. Wheeler spent a year studying composition at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto in 1950. In 1952, Wheeler moved to Britain. He found his way into the London jazz scene of the time, playing in groups led by Tommy Whittle, Tubby Hayes, and Ronnie Scott. In the late 1950s, he was a member of Buddy Featherstonhaugh's quintet together with Bobby Wellins. Throughout the Sixties, he worked with John Dankworth, and also formed part of (Eric Burdon and) The Animals Big Band that made its one-and-only public appearance at the 5th Annual British Jazz & Blues Festival in Richmond (1965) with tenors Stan Robinson, Dick Morrissey and Al Gay, baritone sax Paul Carroll, and fellow trumpets Ian Carr and Greg Brown. In 1968, Wheeler appeared on guitarist Terry Smith's first solo album, "Fall Out". Kenny Wheeler still lives in Britain today and is the patron of the Royal Academy Junior Jazz course.

Writing for large ensembles

Kenny Wheeler has performed and recorded his own compositions with large jazz ensembles throughout his career, starting with his first album "Windmill Tilter", (1969), recorded with the John Dankworth band. The "Windmill Tilter" LP today is a collector's item, since the original master tapes have been lost, though there are plans to remaster it from vinyl and reissue it on CD in 2007 on John Dankworth's Qnote label. The big band album "Song for Someone", (1973, Incus10) fused Wheeler's characteristic orchestral writing with passages of free improvisation provided by musicians such as Evan Parker and Derek Bailey, and was also named Album of the Year by "Melody Maker" magazine in 1975. This has subsequently been reissued on CD by Evan Parker's Psi label (psi 04.01)

Improvised music

In the mid-1960s, Wheeler became a close participant in the nascent free improvisation movement in London, playing with John Stevens, Evan Parker, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and the Globe Unity Orchestra. His involvement in this genre continues to this day.

mall group jazz

Despite the above-noted accomplishments, much of Wheeler's reputation rests on his work with smaller jazz groups. Wheeler's first small group recordings to gain significant critical attention were "Gnu High" (1975) and "Deer Wan" (1977), both for the ECM label.

Wheeler was the trumpet player in the Anthony Braxton Quartet from 1971 to 1976; and from 1977 he was also a member of chamber jazz group Azimuth (with John Taylor and Norma Winstone).

More recently, Wheeler received widespread critical praise for his 1997 album "Angel Song", which featured an unusual "drummerless" quartet of Bill Frisell (guitar), Dave Holland (bass) and Lee Konitz (alto sax).

Critical reaction

"The Wheeler sound is one of the most distinctive in the history of the jazz trumpet. A thin, overblown note is followed by a florid flurry, the high squeal by a long low note he rolls around his mouth like a chewy mint. Although his phrases are bordered, like blotting paper in ink, with romanticism, the comforting phrase is superseded by the querulous, a moment of tenderness by a scream of panic. He has his trademark tics, but is incapable of producing a hackneyed phrase. Like words from a prophet, every note counts."

- Sholto Byrnes in "The Independent", 20th August 2002 (quoted on guitarist John Parricelli's website [http://members.aol.com/parricelli/parricelli4.htm]

Discography

*"Windmill Tilter", 1968
*"Humming Bird (Paul Gonsalves)Humming Bird", 1970 (with Paul Gonsalves)
*"Song For Someone", 1973
*"Gnu High", 1975 (with Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette)
*"1976", 1976
*"Deer Wan", 1978 (with Jan Garbarek, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette)
*"Around 6", 1980
*"Double, Double You", 1984
*"Flutter By, Butterfly", 1988
*"Music For Large & Small Ensembles", 1990
*"The Widow In The Window", 1990
*"Kayak", 1992
*"Touché" (with Paul Bley), 1996
*"All The More", 1997
*"Angel Song", 1997
*"Live at the Montreal Bistro" (with Sonny Greenwich), 1998
*"Siren's Song", 1998
*"A Long Time Ago", 1999
*"One More Time" (with Norma Winstone and UMO Jazz Orchestra), 2000
*"Moon" (with John Taylor), 2001
*"Ordesa" (with Stan Sulzmann and John Parricelli), 2002
*"Dream Sequence", 2003
*"Island" (with Bob Brookmeyer), 2003
*"Where Do We Go From Here" (with John Taylor), 2005
*"What Now?", 2005
*"It Takes Two!", 2006
*"Other People", 2008

External links

* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003675 Kenny Wheeler entry in the 'Canadian Encyclopaedia']

* [http://www.ejn.it/mus/wheeler.htm Kenny Wheeler profile on the 'European Jazz Network']

* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=993 2003 Interview with journalist John Eyles, from AllAboutJazz.com]

* [http://www.jazzservices.org.uk/JUK/JUK61/JUK61_14.pdf 2005 Interview with John Fordham - PDF from JazzServices.org.uk]

* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/critic/review/0,,1392615,00.html 2005 Review of the Kenny Wheeler Big Band by John Fordham in the 'Guardian']

* [http://www.fmp-label.de/freemusicproduction/musiker/wheeler.html FMP releases]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kenny Wheeler — 2007 Kenny Wheeler 2011 Kenny Wheeler (* …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kenny Wheeler — tocando el fliscorno en 2007. Datos generales Nombre real Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kenny Wheeler — en 2007 Nom Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler Naissance 14 janvier&# …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Moon (Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor album) — Moon Studio album by Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor Released 2001 …   Wikipedia

  • Wheeler — is a family name and may refer to:* Albert H. Wheeler (1915–1994), American academic and politician * Alison Wheeler (born 1972), British singer * Anne Wheeler (born 1946), Canadian film and television director * Benjamin Ide Wheeler (1854–1927) …   Wikipedia

  • Wheeler — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Adam Wheeler (* 1981), US amerikanischer Ringer Anna Pell Wheeler (1883–1966), US amerikanische Mathematikerin Arthur Leslie Wheeler (1871–1932), US amerikanischer Klassischer Philologe Benjamin Ide… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kenny (Name) — Kenny ist eine Verkleinerungsform der Namen Kenneth und Kennedy. Daneben nannte sich so eine englische Popband, Kenny. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Bekannte Namensträger 1.1 Vorname 1.1.1 Fiktive Figuren …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kenny Werner — (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist. Kenny Werner was born on November 19, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. At the age of 11, he recorded a single with a fifteen piece orchestra and appeared on television playing stride piano.… …   Wikipedia

  • Wheeler — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Wheeler peut désigner : Patronyme Wheeler est un nom de famille notamment porté par : Anne Wheeler, (1946 ), réalisatrice, scénariste,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kenny (album) — Kenny Studio album by Kenny Rogers Released September 1979 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”