Kenny Wheeler

Canadian composer and trumpet player Kenny Wheeler achieved international acclaim many years ago, not only for his superb playing in projects led by seminal figures like Anthony Braxton, but also for his own musical projects, notably the classic ECM release Gnu Suite. Wheeler is one of those players whose musical scope and originality has had a profound influence upon other musicians. His latest ECM project was produced by Evan Parker, the iconoclastic English reed player whose own music has helped to redefine the individuated scope of the post-Coltrane continuum. Featuring Wheeler on flugelhorn, in the company of an eight piece brass ensemble, plus piano and guitar, the ensemble's impressive gravity of sound is balanced by stately and lively duo and trio interludes that make the extended title suite, "Ballad For A Dead Child," an updated version of "Gnu Suite" and the concluding "One Plus Three" among the most enthralling music that Wheeler has recorded in years.