Record Reviews

KENNY WHEELER ~ AROUND 6 ECM 1156 (Barcode: 731452912428) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1979 Released: 1990 This is the third album on the ECMFind albums on this label label by the great British (born in Canada) trumpeter / composer Kenny WheelerFind albums by this artist, one of the Godfathers of modern British and European Jazz. Recorded in a sextet setting, the album combines the forces of several superb European musicians: British saxophonist Evan ParkerFind albums by this artist, Swedish trombonist Eje ThelinFind albums by this artist, US (resident in Europe) vibraphonist Tom van der GeldFind albums by this artist, French bassist Jean-Francois Jenny-ClarkFind albums by this artist and Finnish drummer Edward VesalaFind albums by this artist. The sextet performs six original compositions by Wheeler, two of which are expanded pieces over ten minutes long and one is a solo trumpet piece. In many respects this album is quite different from all other recordings Wheeler made for ECM, mostly due to the presence of Parker, who belongs to the radical Free Jazz circle, which almost never (except for the very early days) manages to get any exposure on the label. Wheeler, however, seems to have absolutely no problem with Parker being a part of the lineup and switches elegantly between the melodic / lyrical compositions or passages within a composition, into the wild free realms Parker resides in. There are very few recordings, which manage to create such a wonderful cross-genre symbiosis like this one, and therefore this album is in retrospect one of the most interesting ECM recordings. All the players here have been major figures on the European Jazz scene since many years and participated in countless recording sessions from the mid 1960s all throughout the 1970s and Wheeler´s capability to bring them together as part of this project is truly admirable. The level of performance is absolutely dazzling and combined with the level of freedom the musicians are granted by the leader they are able to express themselves to the max, which is clearly evident to the listener. This music lost absolutely nothing of its power and beauty over time, on the contrary listening to this album only makes one wonder why such ambitious and groundbreaking music is rarely being recorded today. This is an absolute gem and every record collection will be greatly enriched by having this album as one of its items. Grab it if you can find it!

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