Kenny Wheeler Legacy SOME DAYS ARE BETTER

January 16, 2025

KENNY WHEELER LEGACY

SOME DAYS ARE BETTER – THE LOST SCORES featuring THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA & FROST JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Greenleaf Music

This January 14^th would have been Wheeler’s 95^th birthday. Most of this music hasn’t been heard since the 1970s, when it originally aired at the BBCs Maida Vale Studios. This is a wonderful and beautifully performed work of musical art. Wheeler was forty years old when he began realizing his musical vision. His awesome music had been sitting in cardboard boxes and plastic bags for decades. This project gives listeners a very clear vision of who Kenny Wheeler was and his exceptional creative growth over years of brilliance. These tapes were discovered while searching the BBC vaults for information that would provide input to current biographies being written.

Included in this impressive CD is a booklet containing 36 pages that tells the Wheeler story. The trumpeter, arranger and composer moved from Canada to Europe in October of 1952, after being told there was plenty of big band work available in the UK. Also, he wanted to study with famed composer, Nadia Boulanger, who resided in Paris. The move had nothing to do with his trumpet. It was all about becoming a better composer. Wheeler found work with the John Dankworth Orchestra, an orchestra that featured John’s wife, Cleo Laine, as the front line vocalist. I loved hearing John & Cleo ‘Live” at the Hollywood Bowl whenever they came to Southern California. In fact, Wheeler’s first album featured his original music, with him playing trumpet out-front and prominent. Both his arranging and composer skills were featured on “Windmill Tilter,” recorded in 1968 by the Dankworth band.

When Kenny Wheeler finally chose his own band, where he employed Norma Winstone’s voice as another instrument inside his arrangements, he was reaching a peak in his musical career. You will hear this technique on this “Some Days Are Better” release.

In 1973, Wheeler was experimenting with different band arrangements and harmonics. He recorded and released an album called “Song for Someone.” He re-records this tune on this current album, employing the vocals again, like a soprano horn. Winstone’s vocals are amazing!

On the morning of May 23, 1969, Kenny prepared for a BBC studio appearance as a leader of his own group. This was the first in a series of concert broadcasts that Wheeler did with his group. They showcased his big band composing skills. He was so impressive that the BBC filmed a TV documentary with Wheeler and his band as the subject. Kenny made an appearance annually at the BBC studios. Consequently, these tapes were discovered from those sessions.

Every song, each arrangement and Kenny’s inimitable trumpet offerings shine like stars in the galaxy. This marvelous, orchestrated album will be available to the public on Jan 31, 2025.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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