http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/arts/music/kenny-wheeler-influential-sound-in-jazz-dies-at-84.html 2014-09-22 06:53:57 Kenny Wheeler, Influential Sound in Jazz, Dies at 84 Critics hailed the ingenuity of Mr. Wheeler’s compositions, which were unfailingly melodic but often veered in unexpected directions, and the understated grace of his playing style. === Kenny Wheeler His death was announced by the Royal Academy of Music Mr. Wheeler was, Nate Chinen noted in The album that belatedly thrust him into the spotlight was By the time he recorded “Gnu High,” Mr. Wheeler had been working for several years with Mr. Braxton and was best known in jazz circles as an exponent of free improvisation. “Gnu High” was the first showcase for his work as a composer since 1968, when the John Dankworth big band recorded his “Windmill Tiller,” a collection of pieces inspired by “Don Quixote.” (The character of Don Quixote appealed to him, Mr. Wheeler said, because “he seemed to be one of the great losers to me.”) Critics hailed the ingenuity of Mr. Wheeler’s compositions, which were unfailingly melodic but often veered in unexpected directions, and the understated grace of his playing, which was characterized by the jazz scholar Barry Kernfeld as “clear, relaxed and lyrical, and marked by a wide-ranging harmonic and rhythmic imagination.” He recorded prolifically for ECM, both as a leader and as a member of the collective trio Most of his records featured small groups, but he also had the occasional opportunity to write for Mr. Wheeler was a member of Mr. Holland’s quintet from 1982 to 1987 and also performed or recorded with the Globe Unity Orchestra, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and other groups. Among his most acclaimed albums was Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler was born in Toronto on Jan. 14, 1930. His father, who played trombone in local bands, encouraged his interest in music, and he began playing trumpet at age 12. He studied at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto and, in the early 1950s, moved to London, where lived for the rest of his life. He joined the John Dankworth orchestra in 1959 and performed with the ensemble at that year’s Newport Jazz Festival. He was a mainstay of the British jazz scene as a sideman throughout the 1960s, but was relatively unknown beyond England and depended on studio work for a steady income until the 1970s. Mr. Wheeler’s survivors include his wife, Doreen, and a son, Mark.