For trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and saxophonist/clarinettist Steve Treseler, paying tribute to the late Kenny Wheeler was a calling. “Ingrid and I are both devoted Kenny fans and we both had the opportunity to work with him in person” says Treseler. ‘Invisible Sounds’ reinterprets works from his prolific catalogue.
Available on CD or high quality, 180 gram, 12” LP, This is limited to 300 copies and comes with download code containing the high-res digital album.
Kenny Wheeler, the Canadian-born, British-based composer/trumpeter has almost incalculably influenced generations of musicians, working alongside a who’s who of artists including Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, John Taylor and Norma Winstone - and a famously unassuming persona belied his unequivocal prominence from the mid-1970s onwards as a free-spirited jazz pioneer.
Ingrid’s band - Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Martin Wind (bass) and Jon Wikan (drums) - was playing at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho, so they booked two nights at Seattle’s Royal Room, as well as the studio session. Between the shows they recorded the album (with guest saxophonist Christine Jensen and vocalist Katie Jacobson). The energy of those performances is brought together here. ”You have jazz styles like swing or be-bop, and some artists are just their own thing, like Mingus, Ellington, Monk - and Kenny has got that. Defined by a host of elements, not least the haunting timbre of his instrument and that ECM spaciousness, he really developed his own harmonic language. Invisible Sounds has given us a deeper understanding of his music, with our own stamp on it. If more people discover Kenny Wheeler as a result, that’s all good with us.” says Jensen.
