This CD reissues music that trumpeter
Kenny Wheeler
recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) and has been forgotten since. Two aspects of the quintet date are unusual.
Wheeler
is heard for one of the few times in his career backed by an electric Fender Rhodes piano (played by
Gary Williamson
) and the music is much more straightahead than the avant-garde trumpeter usually plays. Not that his solos are predictable in any way but
Wheeler's
sound and the feel of the group (which also includes tenor-saxophonist
Art Ellefson
, bassist
Dave Young
and drummer
Marty Morell
) on the six group originals is oddly reminiscent of
Freddie Hubbard's
music of a few years earlier. Although not essential, these formerly rare performances are worth hearing. ~ Scott Yanow