As a key part of the London jazz scene in the 1970s, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler was at the forefront of the free-improvisation movement and a composer whose arrangements became landmark standards for generations that followed. Born in Toronto, Canada, Wheeler's father was an amateur trombone player enamoured with Glenn Miller and Dixieland big bands and he bought 12-year-old Kenny a cornet after he began to show an interest in music. It led to him studying composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music but, instead of training to become a teacher, he spent his tuition money on a ticket to England in 1952, where his versatility allowed him to pick up gigs with bebop, swing and big band groups and eventually landed him a place in Buddy Featherstonhaugh's quintet.
He went on to join clarinettist John Dankworth's orchestra in 1959. When Wheeler suffered problems with his wisdom teeth and was forced to stop playing for three months, he turned to composing and wrote the arrangements which became the band's highly acclaimed 1968 album 'The Windmill Tilter'. Discovering free-improvisation jazz when he sat in on sessions with Evan Parker and Anthony Braxton, he found the random, expressive nature of the music completely therapeutic and joined John Steven's Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Mike Gibbs Orchestra and the Global Unity Orchestra to further explore the genre.
As a band leader, his 1973 album 'Song for Someone' was named Jazz Album of the year by Melody Maker magazine and was acclaimed for mixing free-jazz ideas with highly skilled composition, and his reputation reached new levels with follow-ups 'Gnu Highs' and 'Deer Wan'.
A self-effacing, shy character whose music was often inspired by outsiders and downbeats, Wheeler was happy to sink into the background during performances but was still recognised as one of the finest jazz trumpeters of his era and produced an extraordinary range of unique works from the abstract North American folk music sprawl 'Music for Large and Small Ensembles' to the dreamy, melodic beauty of signature tunes like 'Kind Folk' and 'Everybody's Song But My Own', as well as avant-garde experiments with the chamber trio Azimuth and fusion group United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. Claiming to always have chaos and melancholy within his sound, Wheeler also played on Joni Mitchell's 2002 album 'Travelogue', worked with pop songwriter David Sylvian and made albums with pianist John Taylor, before suffering with ill-health. He died, aged 84, in 2014.
