Kenny Wheeler was a well-respected trumpeter and flugelhorn player who collaborated with scores of players and was a member of a myriad of outfits from the 1950s through to his death in 2014. His recorded catalogue is huge and every now and again, something is unearthed to add to that legacy.
Back in 1995, Kenny was in the studio with long-time friends and fellow travellers Ray Warleigh on alto sax and flute, Stan Sulzmann on tenor sax, John Parricelli on guitar and Chris Laurence and Tony Levin as rhythm section to do some sweet justice to songs brought in by members of the sextet. Evan Parker produced the set and there is a real feeling of a group of friends convening and taking a journey together.
Although known for both trumpet and flugelhorn, here Kenny is concentrating on the flugel and it is that sweet yearning tone that introduces the album as Ray Warleigh’s “Blue Nile” carries the horn on a drifting, almost ambient, wash. The rhythm is cymbal-light and moves like a breeze, the circular motifs of the horn giving way to the more sultry sound of the sax which soars and dives, dancing and darting around the subtle momentum. Batons are passed and the mood changes as instruments pursue their own impression of what is needed. John’s guitar gently supports in the background along with the infectious rhythm section, until it takes centre stage marrying a classic 1950s sound with a more modern, almost soundtrack, vibe. It is a great introduction to what this particular sextet has to offer and with there being two tracks from Ray, two from Stan and two from Kenny along with one from the absent Mike Pyne, you know that a lot of ground will be covered.Stan’s “You’ve Read The Book” features Ray on flute and it adds a pastoral lilt to an already breezy piece that finds Kenny drawing the players towards him like some kind of Pied Piper, his effortless playing the epitome of cool. Ray’s “Footloose” has a slightly hotter tempo with the cymbal wash and breathy bass urging the flugel on as the guitar takes over, its light airy notes drifting overhead. There is plenty of space for all here and it is possible to look through the gaps and focus briefly on one instrument if you so choose; and as the sax comes in, you can almost feel the room open up, preparing the floor for a romantic bass interlude.
Mike Pyne’s “Masbro” is somewhat busier for the rhythm section, its flamboyant but late-night vibe very different to Stan’s more whimsical “Newness”, which leaps like a butterfly, the guitar ascending ever higher, urging Kenny on as he pushes the instrument to its limits. A low-key bass run continues the joy, keeping him company as he scales the heights. It is great how adventurous the players can be, with the opening to Kenny’s “What Was” containing an abstract guitar smear that envelops the horns as they stress specific motifs. It finds the group in playful mode and the dichotomy between the horns and the guitar whose sustained waves are interspersed by hubba-hubbba hip-shaking bass and beetling drums.The album ends with Kenny’s “Kind Folk”, the only previously released track here, and the guitar continues in a similar vein, concocting a sleepy dream of a piece along with the flute. It has an early morning feel, pale light filtering through shaded windows. The tempo is soporific and yearning, but it produces a collaborative warmth as the players listen to and support one another, easing into a smooth passage with the bass leading for a while, the supple shapes lingering in the afterglow of the other instruments.
It is a lovely way to end an album that sees the light after thirty years and not before time, Kenny perhaps at the peak of his later and smoother era, playing with friends and concocting a session that is well remembered by all those involved.-Mr Olivetti-
