Gnu High

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

Even by his standards, this was a prolific time for Kenny. Now considered a modern classic, Kenny’s ECM debut Gnu High was far from an easy ride for the trumpeter. In the recording sessions for this, pianist Keith Jarrett’s chilly reception did not set Kenny’s nervous personality at ease. Nevertheless, the album established Wheeler’s relationship with the German record label, which would last to his final recording and cement his reputation as a pioneer of an increasingly identifiable European jazz sound. Soon thereafter, John Taylor formed the trio, Azimuth with Kenny and Norma Winstone. His work with this group complemented his own albums and became another significant part of his catalogue. Kenny’s session work was increasingly replaced with jazz opportunities. He was invited to join the new Dave Holland Quintet at around the same time that Holland took over as director of the jazz program at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. Dave invited Kenny onto the faculty, and this position introduced many young international musicians to Kenny and his music.

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Citation

Shaw, Brian; Smart, Nick. Gnu High. 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=25559. Date accessed: 17 Jul 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.25559. Feb 2025

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