Kenny Wheeler - John Taylor Duo
Kenny Wheeler (tp, flic) – John Taylor (p)

Sabato 19 Giugno
Piazza San Lorenzo
ore 20,30

Le carriere di Kenny Wheeler e John Taylor si intrecciano da più di trent'anni nonostante che uno sia Canadese e l'altro Inglese. Alla fine degli anni ‘60 facevano parte della vivacissima scena jazzistica londinese e distinguendosi sia come esponenti di mainstream sia dell’avanguardia. Durante gli anni ‘70 hanno collaborato su numerosi progetti compresi il sestetto di Taylor e l'album classico Incus di Wheeler, Song for someone. Nel 1977, insieme alla cantante Norma Winstone formarono Azimuth rilasciando ben cinque album ECM in un periodo di 17 anni. Nonostante che questo sembri già un lavoro sostanzioso, esso rappresenta solo una piccola parte della produzione musicale di entrambi i musicisti. Tra le altre cose Taylor ha continuato a suonare con Surman e ha fatto parte del trio di Peter Erskine con il quale ha inciso quattro CD per ECM e fra poco uscirà un nuovo album con Evolution di Tommy Smith (Spartacus) al quale partecipano anche Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, John Scofield e Bill Stewart. Anche Wheeler ha lavorato a numerosi progetti come il suo recente CD Dream Sequence (PSI). Stranamente il duo suona raramente assieme. Wheeler è sempre capace di stupire mentre Taylor con il suo stile vigoroso e ritmico crea uno sfondo che fa risaltare l'ampia gamma armonica e le sfumature ritmiche.

Saturday 19 June
Piazza San Lorenzo
at 8:30 p.m.

The careers of trumpeter and flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler and pianist John Taylor have been all but entwined for more than 30 years. Both closely identified with the vital London jazz scene of the mid to late 1960s. Early on, both Wheeler and Taylor maintained mainstream and avant-garde credentials: Wheeler played with everyone from John Dankworth to Spontaneous Music Ensemble, while Taylor balanced accompanist chores for Cleo Laine with cutting-edge work with John Surman and Alan Skidmore. By the early '70s, the two were collaborating on a variety of projects, including Taylor's Sextet and Wheeler's classic Incus album, Song for Someone. In 1977, Taylor and Wheeler formed Azimuth with singer Norma Winstone, setting a standard for chamber jazz through five ECM albums released over a 17-year period. Substantial as it is, Wheeler and Taylor's work together comprises only a portion of their respective outputs. Taylor's activities with Surman continue, as does the pianist's membership in Peter Erskine's trio, with which he has made four CDs for ECM. Currently he is releasing an album with Tommy Smith's Evolution (Spartacus), on which Taylor linchpins an all-star sextet rounded out by Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, John Scofield and Bill Stewart. Meanwhile Wheeler projects include the recently issued Dream Sequence (Psi)CD. Remarkably, Wheeler and Taylor infrequently perform as a duo, which made their concert one of the most anticipated at the 2003 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Throughout the set, Wheeler's patented technique and propensity to catch the listener off-guard in mid-solo with a well-timed tangent was simply spellbinding. Taylor's playing depended little on the graceful lyricism on which critics hang their stock Bill Evans comparisons, emphasizing instead a vigorous, even urgent attack and rhythmic drive. Additionally, Taylor fully exploited the latitude inherent in a duo to make subtle harmonic and rhythmic shifts, which unfailingly spurred Wheeler to respond in kind.