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(b 14 Jan. '30, Toronto, Canada) Trumpet,
cornet, flugelhorn; composer. From musical family; grew up in same small
town (St Catharines) as Gene Lees. Began on cornet at twelve, studied
at Toronto Conservatory; to UK '52, played in big bands of Roy Fox, Vic
Lewis, then with John Dankworth '59--65; began composing and arranging.
Studied with British composer Richard Rodney Bennett; played with Ronnie
Scott, Joe Harriott, Tubby Hayes, Clarke/Boland Big Band. With complete
mastery over trumpet range and turning to 'free' jazz, worked with John
Stevens's Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Globe Unity Orchestra, Anthony Braxton
Quartet, other groups; co- founder of trio Azimuth '77, joined United
Jazz and Rock Ensemble '79, played in Dave Holland Quintet from '83; toured
UK with international George Russell band '85. Composes for groups of
all sizes, incl. Rome, Helsinki, Stockholm radio orchestras; also active
as educator. Own LPs incl. big band The Windmill Tilter '68 on Fontana;
Song For Someone '73 on Incus; Gnu High '76 (quartet with Keith Jarrett,
Jack DeJohnette, Holland), Deer Wan '78 (with Jan Garbarek, Holland, John
Abercrombie, DeJohnette), Around Six '80 (sextet), Double, Double You
'84 (quintet with Mike Brecker, John Taylor, Holland, DeJohnette), all
on ECM. Canadian broadcast Kenny Wheeler Quintet 1976 with local musicians
released '96 on Just a Memory (the Canadian Justin Time label), Wheeler's
solos described by Coda as 'just as unpredictable and dynamic as ever'.
Quintet Around 6 '79 on ECM; Live At Roccella Junction '84 was a sextet
plus vocalist Norma Winstone, live in Italy with Taylor, Tony Oxley on
drums, and issued on Ismez Polis. Pianist Taylor and Stan Sulzmann on
reeds made lovely duo LP of Wheeler compositions Everybody's Song But
My Own '87 on Loose Tubes label. See also entries for Azimuth and Dave
Holland. Wheeler toured '88 with a band incl. Taylor, Holland, John Abercrombie
on guitar, Peter Erskine on drums; they made The Widow In The Window '89
and all these plus 13 others incl. Sulzmann, Evan Parker, Julian Arg]auu[elles
on reeds, played on two-CD Music For Large And Small Ensembles '90, Winstone
singing on three tracks, both on ECM. The Upper Austrian Jazz Orchestra
Plays The Music Of Kenny Wheeler '95 was on Westwind; quartet Welcome
on Muse, quintet Ten Tributes '94 on Ram, both with Claudio Fasoli; quintet
Flutter By, Butterfly on Muse; Touch‚ with Paul Bley on Canadian
Justin Time label. The beautiful Angel Song '97 on ECM had a quartet with
Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell and Holland playing Wheeler tunes. Quintet Live
At The Montreal Bistro and Siren's Song with Taylor, Winstone and Maritime
Jazz Orch. (dir. by Greg Carter) were on Justin Time.
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