Kenny Wheeler

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Kenny Wheeler (1992)
Kenny Wheeler (2007)

Kenneth Vincent John "Kenny" Wheeler (* 14. January 1930 in St. Catharines , Ontario ; † 18th September 2014 in London ) was a Canadian jazz - trumpet - flugelhorn player and composer . He was known as "one of the most profound and original jazz voices in the world." Ian Carr emphasized the urgency of his playing: "A kind of tense, romantic melancholy ."

Live and act

Wheeler, who learned the cornet at the age of 12 , studied harmony and trumpet at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto from 1950 to 1951 . In 1952 he moved to London . Here he performed with traditional swing and dance bands, but also worked with musicians such as Joe Harriott and Ronnie Scott . In 1959 he performed at the Newport Jazz Festival with John Dankworth's Boporchestra , of which he was a member until 1965. He also studied composition with Richard Rodney Bennett and Bill Russo . From 1966 to 1970 he was part of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble around John Stevens . In 1968 he wrote the album Windmill Tilter with the Dankworth Orchestra , a suite of his own compositions based on Don Quixote by Cervantes .

From 1969 to 1972 he was a member of Tony Oxley's sextet (alongside Derek Bailey and Evan Parker ) , and from 1969 to 1975 of the Mike Gibbs Orchestra . Between 1970 and 2006 he also worked regularly in Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity Orchestra . From 1971 to 1976 he was a member of Anthony Braxton's quartet . After his large-format album Song for Someone was recognized by Melody Maker as "Album of the Year" in 1975 , he recorded the album Gnu High in 1976 in a quartet with Keith Jarrett , Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette . A year later he founded the Azimuth trio with Norma Winstone and John Taylor , with whom he had made six albums by 1997. From 1983 to 1987 he was a member of the Dave Holland Quintet . In the early 1990s he was a member of the Dedication Orchestra .

In addition, Wheeler also played jazz rock , u. a. with Mike Gibbs (early 1970s), Bill Bruford (1978) and occasionally in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble (since 1978). Many critics associate a further increase in Wheeler's work with the 1990s, for example with his albums Music for Large and Small Ensemble , Kayak and 1997 Angel Song , a quartet album with Lee Konitz , Bill Frisell and Dave Holland.

In 2005 Wheeler was awarded the German Jazz Trophy , the fifth prize winner after Erwin Lehn , Paul Kuhn , Wolfgang Dauner and Toots Thielemans . Wheeler last lived in a nursing home in Essex .

Wheeler was honored with an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Music in London during his lifetime : Master of Melancholy Chaos. The Kenny Wheeler Music Prize is named after Wheeler and has been awarded every year since 2011 to the academy's graduate who shows excellence in both his lecture and his compositions.

Discographic notes

Kenny Wheeler (2011)

literature

Web links

Commons : Kenny Wheeler  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ RIP, Kenny Wheeler , obituary by Peter Hum in the Ottawa Citizen's jazz blog on September 19, 2014. English
  2. a b Kenny Wheeler: Master of Melancholy Chaos , text for an exhibition on Kenny Wheeler at the Royal Academy of Music 2013–2014 (archived)
  3. ^ Ian Carr, in: Jazz Rough Guide , p. 691
  4. Kenny Wheeler, Contemporary Jazz Musician, Dies Aged 84 , The Guardian , Sept. 19, 2014
  5. Peter Hum: The Kenny Wheeler Jazz Benefit Challenge at the Ottawa Citizen, September 2, 2014
  6. ^ Kenny Wheeler Music Prize
  7. "There aren't many solos of mine that I like as a whole ... Maybe it's the solos on Deer Wan that I can live with," said Wheeler, very self-critical. Quoted from Ian Carr, in: Jazz Rough Guide , p. 691
  8. Discussion of Allaboutjazz