Way back in the glory days of the jazz blogosphere, Ethan Iverson put together a master list of his favorite jazz recordings from 1973-1990 and invited others to do the same. Here is what I wrote about Kenny Wheelers records during that period: Kenny Wheeler – Deer Wan (1977), Around 6 (1979), Double, Double You (1983), Flutter By, Butterfly (1987), The Widow In The Window (1990), Music for Large & Small Ensembles (1990) Gnu High (recommended by Ethan, and enthusiastically seconded by me) is one of the greatest jazz recordings of all time, but it’s also a bit of an anomaly in Kenny Wheeler’s catalog — Keith Jarrett, being Keith Jarrett, basically decides that Kenny’s harmonies aren’t his thing, and declines to play them. It’s still amazing, but it’s not quite Kenny. Deer Wan (yes, I know, but you have to indulge KW his awful puns) has Jarrett replaced by the more sympathetic John Abercrombie (who would become a regular Wheeler collaborator), and the addition of a second horn (Jan Garbarek) emphasizes Kenny’s contrapuntal strengths. Around 6, with a group of European players (including Evan Parker and J.F. Jenny-Clark) is Kenny’s least-known ECM outing, but it’s actually one of his strongest and most conceptually creative — and the extreme contrast of Evan Parker shredding through Kenny’s pretty, pensive tunes like a bandsaw through rice-paper is improbably effective. It sounds like they were going for an equally striking but more salable contrast by adding Michael Brecker to the John Taylor-Dave Holland-Jack DeJohnette rhythm section on Double, Double You, and it pays off in Brecker’s fiery turn over the sus-chord vamp on “Foxy Trot” (a very popular tune to play back in my McGill days). Flutter By, Butterfly is another often-overlooked item in Kenny’s discography, but it has some of his lightest and “jazziest” heads (like “Everybody’s Song But My Own” and “The Little Fellow” — aptly described by KW as a cross between an Irish folk song and a McCoy Tyner piece). The Widow In The Window reunites Wheeler with Abercrombie, and adds Peter Erskine in place of Jack DeJohnette. The record is very quiet and introspective (perhaps to a fault), but has some of Kenny’s most affecting songwriting — especially the title track and “Ma Belle Hélène.” But his masterpiece is, unquestionably, Music For Large & Small Ensembles — The Sweet Time Suite, which takes up the entirety of Disc 1, is one of the most captivating large-scale jazz compositions ever written. The opening chorale (with Norma Winstone’s pristine voice blending with and humanizing the saxophone choir) never fails to draw me right in, and before I know it I’ve listened to the whole damn thing. Disc 2 continues with three more of KW’s big band gems (“Sophie,” “Sea Lady,” and “Gentle Piece”), and after gorging on so many brilliant large ensemble works, as a palate-cleanser we get an assortment of freely improvised trios and duets, and for dessert, a multifaceted quintet version of the old Dietz/Schwartz standard “By Myself.” Kenny Wheeler has done more than anyone since Wayne Shorter to expand the palette of harmonic possibilities in jazz. Also, don’t overlook KW’s contributions to the great 1980′s Dave Holland recordings — Jumpin’ In (1983), Seeds Of Time (1984) and the best of these (also with Steve Coleman, Robin Eubanks, and Smitty Smith), The Razor’s Edge (1986).
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 02:15:26 +0000
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