Angel Song: The Suite Life and Music of Kenny Wheeler

 

Angel Song: The Suite Life and Music of Kenny Wheeler  by Andrew Vogel A Thesis submitted to the Graduate School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Jazz History and Research Written under the direction of Dr. Henry Martin and approved by

 ___________________________  _____________ ____________________________ ______________

 ___________________________  _____________ ____________________________ ______________

 Newark, New Jersey

May 2016

 

 

© 2016 Andrew Vogel

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

 

  Abstract of the Thesis  Angel Song: The Suite Life and Music of Kenny Wheeler

By Andrew Vogel

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Henry Martin In jazz’s nearly 120-year history, there are individuals recognized recogn ized by a majority of scholars and fanatics for what they have contributed to the music’s development. Champions of jazz and its many forms include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. However, there is a plethora p lethora of original artists whose work and influence remain relatively unacknowledged. In this work I will focus on the life and music of Kenny Wheeler, who is among  jazz’s hidden geniuses. Kenny Wheeler was an imaginative composer, arranger, trumpeter and flugelhornist who incorporated traditional and avant-garde jazz styles as well as Western art music influences into his work. Wheeler was born in Toronto, Canada, but spent most of his formative years in St. Catharines. At age 22 he moved to London where he would quickly begin working with local bands. Wheeler had a long, prolific career in which he experimented with many different musical styles and took part in hundreds of recordings. Wheeler continued working until shortly before his death at 84 years old in 2014. As a leader and a sideman, Wheeler would work with some of the music’s legendary figures including: Woody Herman, Paul Pau l Gonslaves, Philly Joe Jones, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Clark Terry, and Michael Brecker; Breck er; he would also form more

""

 

  significant and lasting musical relationships with the likes of Johnny Dankworth, Evan Parker, John Stevens, Mike Westbrook, John Taylor, Norma Winstone, Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton, Globe Unity Orchestra, Lee Konitz, John Abercrombie, Stan Sulzmann, John Parricelli, Chris Laurence, Martin France, and countless others. The primary focus is Wheeler’s life story. However, his musical influences and artistic style are discussed throughout, as well as his most seminal records as a sideman and leader. For those who are not familiar with Kenny Wheeler’s music, this thesis highlights some of his most important work, and should provide a starting place to explore his vast output. For longtime fans and Wheeler neophytes alike, this thesis  provides a look into the life and personality of one of the most original voices in jazz since the 1970s.

"""

 

  Table of Contents

1

Preface and Acknowledgments

4

Table of Images

1 

Part I – Biography

Chapter 1 – A Little Fella

2

Chapter 2 – Imminent Immigrant

12

Chapter 3 – Tilting At Windmills For Someone Chapter 4 –Reaching Gnu Highs

44

Chapter 5 –Flutter By The Razor’s Edge Chapter 6 – Aspire Nonetheless Chapter 7 – What Now?

62

74

94

Chapter 8 – Angel Song—Epilogue Part II – Analysis

28

109

114 

Chapter 9 –Wheeler’s Music And The Craft Of Musical Composition Part III – Selected Discography Bibliography

205 

Bibliography from Darmstadt Works Cited

132

206

218

"#

115

 

  Preface and Acknowledgments 

Having read my fair share of introductions and prefaces for biographies, dissertations, and other scholarly works, I felt a great deal of pressure to begin by discussing how Kenny Wheeler’s work has been a continuing lifelong influence, and how I was compelled to write this as a demonstration of his importance in my life. While I

could begin in such a manner (and was tempted by the idea), I will instead start with the much less poetic truth. When I began working towards my Master of Arts in Jazz History and Research at Rutgers University, I had a few thesis topics I was considering. I contemplated employing my educational background in audio engineering to examine the work of Rudy Van Gelder, or using my experience as a saxophonist to investigate Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, or one of my other idols. I did not consider Kenn Kenny y Wheeler as a topic until after his passing in the fall of 2014 20 14 when Juan Acosta, a friend from college, suggested I look into him. The rest of the story is fairly sim simple: ple: I listened to Wheeler’s

 Music For Large and Small Ensembles Ensembles, fell in love with the music, unburdened my bank account of its contents in exchange exch ange for as much of Wheeler’s music I could c ould afford, and dove full tilt into research. Wheeler’s music—both his playing and his writing—swept me off my feet, and the more I have uncovered about his music and his life, the more my fascination has grown. I wanted to use my thesis as a way of shedding light on someone or something that I believe has not been given enough attention, and I am thrilled by my results. This was certainly not a solo effort, and there the re are quite a few people I need to thank for helping me along the way, because without them I never could have pieced together such a cohesive portrait of Wheeler. I would first like like to thank Hilma Carter, Ed

#

 

  Berger, and everybody at the Institute of Jazz Studies for providing and awarding me a grant from the Morroe Berger-Benny Carter Jazz Research Fund. Additional gratitude is owed to the staff at the Institute of Jazz Studies for the resources and expertise they  provided, which made writing my thesis a lot less overwhelming, especially in the  beginning. I would also like to thank my professors, Dr. Lewis Porter and Dr. Henry Martin, for their invaluable advice and help; their guidance and encouragement these last two years has helped me grow exponentially. I would like to thank John Abercrombie, Fred Hersch, Dave Holland, Evan Parker, and Norma Winstone for agreeing to speak with me and share their stories about Kenny Wheeler; without their input, I believe this thesis would have felt hollow. I appreciate Nick Smart for his willingness to help me with my inquiries. Last, but certainly not least, I am grateful to my friends and family: my  parents David and Joanne Vogel; siblings Luke Vogel and Annie Vogel Roberts; as well as my confidants and colleagues Zach Streeter, Mark Wallace, Chloe Feoranzo, and Nate Golomski for taking my calls at all hours of the night, talking me down from a few ledges, and learning way more than they thought they ever would about Kenny Wheeler  by allowing me to yap for hours. Researching and writing this has been one of the richest experiences in which I have taken part. One of the most interesting results of my work was how much muc h I feel I have gotten to know Kenny Wheeler and how much I relate to him. In interviews he was self-critical, humble to a fault, and had an amazing sense of humor. He was a fan of puns and word games, which I tried to honor, albeit on an amateurish level, with my thesis and chapter titles. The chapter titles are derived from the titles of Wheeler’s albums and compositions; some of them are titles of songs or albums that relate to the chapter’s

#"

 

  material, or are mixtures of multiple titles that I thought went well or sounded funny together. To those who read this: my goal goa l is to provide a partial view of Wheeler’s life, his  beautiful music, and matching personality.

#""

 

  Table of Images

Image 5-1

Image 9-1

Melody transcription of “We Salute the Night” Lower and upper limits of scale as described in Hindemith’s The Craft of Musical Composition

Images 9-2 – 99

Scale development

Image 9-10

Series I from The Craft of Musical Composition

Image 9-11

Series II from The Craft of Musical Composition

Image 9-12

Interval root – perfect fifth Harmonic fluctuation from The Craft of Musical

Image 9-13

 applied to Wheeler’s “Suite Time Suite—Part Composition I”

Image 9-14

Complete melodic and harmonic analysis adapted form  The Craft of Musical Composition applied to “Suite Time Suite—Part I,” measures 1-5

Image 9-15

Complete melodic and harmonic analysis adapted form  The Craft of Musical Composition applied to “Suite Time Suite—Part I,” measures 6-10

Image 9-16

Complete melodic and harmonic analysis adapted form  The Craft of Musical Composition applied to “Suite Time Suite—Part I,” measures 11-15

#"""

 

  $

PART I: BIOGRAPHY

 

  % Chapter 1: A Little Fella

In January of 1930, Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow and would go on together to  become two of the most notorious outlaws in United States history, the first Mickey Mouse comic strip would be released, and a nd Dmitri Shostakovich’s first opera, “The Nose,” made its premiere at the Maly Operny Theatre in Leningrad Russia. In the world of jazz, one of the most original trumpeters, flugelhornists, and composers of both bo th big band and small ensemble jazz music was born. Kenneth “Kenny” Vincent John Wheeler was born January 14, 1930, in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Wilfred (Wilf), was an accountant as  1

well a semi-professional musician and his mother, Mabel Agnes, was a homemaker.   Wilfred Robert Wheeler was born was born November 10, 10 , 1899 in York, Ontario. According to a Canadian list of marriage registrations, Wilfred Wheeler’s father, George Hill Wheeler was born in England, and an d a printer by trade. Wilfred Wheeler’s mother, Kathleen née Ryan was born in Canada. Both of Wilf Wheeler’s parents were Christians, though his father was a Congregationalist Congrega tionalist and his mother Roman Catholic. In an issue of  from October of 1905, there is a George H. Wheeler listed The Christian Science Journal  from 2

as First Reader at Toronto’s Second Church Chu rch of Christ, Scientist.  If this is the same George H. Wheeler, he seems to have been quite active in his church. This is interesting  because on his marriage certificate, Wilfred Wheeler lists himself as Roman Catholic, so his father must not have put much pressure on his children children to attend his church. In a list of marriages including George and Kathleen Wheeler’s information, it says that George

$ &' ( $)** +('",-./ 0, "'1"#"12(3. -'/-4"'5 /6- 7'"/-1 8/(/-. ,40+ 9('(1( /640256 % :4;6"-33(' ?@1"/04AB !"# %"&'()'*+ ,-'#+-# ./0&+*1 B C;/0-.j.-(4;6hg2";HjR0.h$jk./(4/h$ jR0.h$jk./(4/h$c,"4./6"/  c,"4./6"/ B :;;-..-1 ^-02". [(4,-B GE >02". [(4,-B

IN6--3-4U. Z"(+0'1BO Z"(+0'1BO %&#(-#+5/K ^-