Trumpeter Kenny Wheeler’s 2006 album It Takes Two! is an exercise is understatement and I have really been enjoying it lately. On the album, Wheeler is accompanied by guitarists John Abercrombie and John Parricelli with bassist Anders Jormin. The quartet weaves a gentle and understated jazz tapestry. And while Abercrombie’s and Parricelli’s instruments (both electric and nylon-stringed guitars) sing in a different voice than Wheeler, they are a perfect compliment.
Wheeler’s distinctive tone is breezy and melancholic and his lyrical melodies saunter along with an almost Latin (or bluesy Flamenco) feel at times. It Takes Two! is a gorgeous but mostly somber affair that often makes me think of Miles Davis at his most restrained. Most amazing is that Wheeler (now 77 years old) is still playing with such passion and clarity after almost 40 years.
It Takes Two! is available from Sunny Side Records or you can purchase it here.
MP3 | Kenny Wheeler – After All It Takes Two!
MP3 | Kenny Wheeler – Improvisation n.1 It Takes Two!
thanks for these. wheeler is really great. his song “ana” from an old record is one of my favorite examples of the miles at his most restrained thing you mention.