Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone & London Vocal Project: Mirrors

Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone have been at the forefront of European Jazz scene collectively for the last five decades, gaining the admiration and reverence from all generations of musicians and fans.

With Mirrors they are reunited, this time joined by the London Vocal Project, a 24-piece choir directed by the inimitable Pete Churchill, along with pianist Nikki Iles, saxophonist Mark Lockheart, bassist Steve Watts and drummer Martin France, showcasing the huge breadth of talent of British Jazz spanning four generations of musicians. 

The release of Mirrors marks a major new work and a first in Kenny Wheeler’s long and illustrious career. Up until now, virtually all his music has been conceived instrumentally and then has had the good fortune to have the addition of Norma Winstones’ fantastic poetry to turn them into songs. With Mirrors, it is the first time that he has set existing text to music and the result is something that is remarkably different. The wonderfully colourful, sometimes humourous and dark words by poets Stevie Smith, Lewis Carroll and W.B. Yeats have governed the shape, so melodies and forms are longer and nuances exist that might not have had been there if the music had been composed instrumentally. 

This previously unrecorded work was premiered at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1998, sung by Norma Winstone, Ian Shaw, Cleveland Watkiss, Liane Carroll and Pete Churchill. However, it was a performance at the London Jazz Festival in 2011 with one of the leading contemporary jazz-vocal ensembles in the country, the London Vocal Project, that provided the impetus to record this significant suite. 

Featuring eleven compositions, Mirrors is vast in conception and world class in its execution. The music is undeniably classic Wheeler, from the thick, lush voicing of the choir to the beautiful melodies that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. But it’s far more than that, Mirrors is one of those albums that just swings.

Mirrors was released on Monday 25 February and was produced by Dave Stapleton & Pete Churchill. Buy your copy now via the Edition Records website.

Pre-concert talk: Pete Churchill, director of London Vocal Project | 7pm, St Pancras Room
This talk is free to evening concert ticket holders. Please reserve your seat by calling the Box Office on 020 7520 1490

editionrecords.com | londonvocalproject.com