A Long Time Ago

Song for Someone - The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler - Brian Shaw

Brian Shaw [+-]
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Brian Shaw is an active performer, arranger, and educator known for his versatility. He is one of the few trumpet players in the world equally comfortable in early music, orchestral, jazz, and commercial settings on modern and period instruments. He has released four albums as a soloist and leader, and holds principal positions the Dallas Winds, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and Spire Baroque Orchestra, and is a frequent guest principal trumpet in American symphony orchestras. A former Banff Centre student of Kenny Wheeler’s, Brian is a passionate advocate for his music and published a book of his solo transcriptions in 2000. He regularly teaches Baroque and modern trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and was Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Studies at Louisiana State University for 15 years. He lives near Seattle with his wife Lana, their sons Thomas and Elliot, and their dog, Ernie.
Nick Smart [+-]
Royal Academy of Music
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Nick Smart is Head of Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and an internationally renowned jazz educator, trumpeter and musical director. He has been the recipient of the prestigious UK All Party Parliamentary Jazz Award for Education, is a Professor of the University of London, and Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music where he also completed his PhD. Throughout the UK he remains one of the leading jazz musicians on the scene, continuing to record and tour with his own projects as well as being in regular demand as a sideman to players of all generations. Nick was also a close associate of Kenny Wheeler, having played in his last big band and with many of his regular colleagues, and he has been instrumental in keeping Kenny's musical legacy alive in masterclasses and performances around the world.

Description

Kenny was one of eight children born to a musical family in Toronto, Canada. His father, Wilfred Wheeler, was a semi-professional trombonist who one day brought home a cornet for his adolescent son. Following several moves around Ontario, the Wheelers finally settled in St. Catharines. While in high school, Kenny met a group of like-minded musicians who were enthusiastic about bebop. His father took him on a memorable trip to see Duke Ellington, and he even managed to get into the United States to see Charlie Parker twice. After a brief period of study at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, he had a series of unsuccessful attempts at holding down “day” jobs, all the while seeking musical work with an uncharacteristic determination. On the advice of his great friend, and later eminent jazz writer, Gene Lees, he abruptly decided to move to England, in the hopes of procuring work as a brass player.

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Citation

Shaw, Brian; Smart, Nick. A Long Time Ago. Song for Someone - The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. Feb 2025. ISBN 9781781792193. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=25555. Date accessed: 17 Jul 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.25555. Feb 2025

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