Kenny Wheeler – Angel Song (2xLP, ECM)

"Destined to go down in history as a jazz classic" was The Guardian's verdict when the album was released in 1997, adding: "Wheeler's compositions and four of the world's finest improvisers create a thought-provoking set that is worth listening to again and again. This is beautiful, luminous music."

"Angel Song" is one of the highlights of the label's catalog, bringing together four improvisational greats - each with a unique artistic identity - in an intimate, drummer-less quartet session. Kenny Wheeler is the composer of the nine hauntingly lyrical chamber jazz pieces and lends them a particularly haunting atmosphere on flugelhorn and trumpet in an expressive and melodic exchange with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. Dave Holland's bass foundation is as convincing as ever and gives Bill Frisell every freedom to improvise around the harmonies. Like the Guardian, the Times was jubilant in 1997, calling it a "touchingly beautiful album: Holland's agile reliability anchors the elegant sonority of Konitz, the shimmering sophistication of Frisell and the sonic tenderness of Wheeler himself."

The album is being released on vinyl for the very first time as part of the Luminessence series and is presented in a tip-on gatefold with session photos.

Reviews

"The sound is incredibly good. Above all, Angel Song's absolute freedom from noise is convincing, while Gateway sounds more transparent than ever, even in the more aggressive improvisational moments." (MINT, July 2024)

"The 'Luminessence' series of the Munich cult label ECM [...] gives its very special albums a new topicality [...] The musically binding double album, which is being released on vinyl for the first time, shows the quartet playing together magnificently." (STEREO, August 2024)