Kenny Wheeler

The notoriously self-critical trumpeter Kenny Wheeler named Deer Wan as his favourite among his own albums: "I like the overall form of this one best." It was recorded in Oslo in July 1977 and released by ECM in 1978. Four long Wheeler compositions are set for a quintet of strong personalities, and the album remains one of the clearest statements of his small-group writing.

Wheeler plays trumpet and flugelhorn alongside Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano saxophones. Behind them is the Gateway trio of John Abercrombie on electric guitar and electric mandolin, Dave Holland on double bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Born in Toronto in 1930 and based in London since the early 1950s, Wheeler had worked in big bands and in free improvisation before coming to ECM. Holland and DeJohnette had also played on his ECM debut, Gnu High, recorded in 1975 with Keith Jarrett. Ralph Towner adds his 12-string guitar to one piece. The album was recorded at Talent Studio with Jan Erik Kongshaug as engineer and Manfred Eicher as producer.

Peace for Five fills most of the first side. Garbarek opens on tenor and Wheeler joins him. The piece then moves through an extended Holland solo, a faster section, solos by Abercrombie and Garbarek, and a drum feature by DeJohnette before the ensemble returns. 3/4 in the Afternoon, the waltz with Towner, is short and melancholy. Sumother Song is almost two pieces in one, starting over a sparse beat and turning into a lighter, Latin-inflected section. The title track builds its theme in stages, with DeJohnette on delicate cymbals, before opening into a looser chase.

Wheeler and Garbarek sound like a natural pairing here, the trumpet's high, slightly fragile line set against the hard edge of the saxophone. In AllMusic, Scott Yanow wrote that "Wheeler emphasizes lyricism and romantic moods on this fine set of original music." Reviewing the vinyl reissue for London Jazz News in 2017, Andrew Cartmel found "Wheeler and Garbarek in close cahoots again" on the closing track.

This is the CD edition of ECM 1102 (catalogue 829 385-2), first released in 1978.