Overly pastel shaded perhaps. But what this worthy Kenny Wheeler themed album from the quartet of bassist Duncan Hopkins most rewardingly achieves is to send you immediately again to a range of Wheeler classics. The guitarists - Reg Schwager and Ted Quinlan - play perfectly well. But there is a spark missing to really get the tunes again. And the lack of sonic impact in the audio quality of this Toronto recorded studio album is also not at all ideal. The truncated All the More (Soul Note) tune 'Mark Time' half the length of that 1990s album version does itself no favours by opening with an extensive drum solo by Michael Lambert. 'Who Are You?' from Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and the hauntingly sung Norma Winstone's Azimuth '85 is the title track of this newly released Wheeler album of instrumentals. And like all the other Wheeler classics here make you want to immerse yourself in his meltingly bittersweet oblique musical universe lingeringly all over again. Duncan Hopkins, photo: publicity shot
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