Kenny Wheeler Sextet - What Was Kenny Wheeler Sextet

The first release of a 1995 studio session, produced by Evan Parker. The Kenny Wheeler Sextet includes Ray Warleigh, Stan Sulzmann, John Parricelli, Chris Laurence and Tony Levin.

Evan Parker instigated four recording sessions with Kenny Wheeler and members of this sextet between 1995 and 2003, with a compilation of Wheeler’s compositions from these sessions issued on Dream Sequence (2003); the only sextet track on Dream Sequence, "Kind Folk", was taken from the 1995 session which is presented in full here for the first time. What Was includes compositions by Wheeler, Ray Warleigh, Stan Sulzmann, Mike Pyne and Lee Konitz.

This archival release comes on the heels of: (1) The 2025 publication of the biography Song for Someone: The Musical Life of Kenny Wheeler by Brian Shaw & Nick Smart (Equinox); and (2) Some Days Are Better: The Lost Scores by the Kenny Wheeler Legacy receiving a 2026 Grammy nomination in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category.

From Nick Smart’s sleevenotes: "Any previously unreleased studio session from a great artist is an exciting prospect, especially an artist sadly no longer with us but one whose legacy is still being cared for and curated by many of the musicians with whom they were closest. Such is the case with this outstanding recording from Kenny Wheeler’s sextet at Gateway Studio in late 1995, capturing a special period in his life with a special group of colleagues.

On What Was we hear Kenny at 65 years old and still at the height of his musical powers, but with the mature finesse and refinement consistent with all his playing during the nineties and particularly on his most successful recording of all time, made just a few months after this session in February 1996, Angel Song (ECM). This period is perhaps a kind of ‘second chapter’ in the evolution of his playing; after the fiery Wheeler of the 1970s we hear him now still full of passion and every bit as assured, but with the more reflective, glass-like quality that refined itself into his sound and self-expression around this time.
In addition to that, this new release also brings together many of the people deeply connected with Kenny and his musical world throughout his entire career. It’s another treasure in the important legacy of a much missed, and irreplaceable musician."