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Jazz Articles about Andy Wheelock
Ben Markley: Live at Nocturne
by Pierre Giroux
Ben Markley's Live At Nocturne encapsulates a rare alchemy that emerges from nightly performances in an intimate collaborative setting. Over two uninterrupted months, Markley and his cohorts guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, alto saxophonist Will Swindler, bassists Domi Edson (tracks 1-5), Matt Smiley (tracks 6-7) and drummer Andy Wheeler, transformed Denver's Nocturne into a crucible for creativity that celebrates the improvisational spirit of jazz and the rewards of sustained musical interaction. Markley's seven original compositions serve as the ...
Continue ReadingAndy Wheelock: Whee3trio: In The Wheelhouse
by Dan McClenaghan
The first minute of an imminent immersion into the sound of In the Wheelhouse, by drummer Andy Wheelock and the Whee3trio, is “rhythm, rhythm, rhythm." The second impression is “Africa." This is not surprising given that Wheelock took a good deal of his inspiration for this effort via his study of the Ghanaian gyil, a type of xylophone. He speaks of “running my gyil through the POG2 pedal while writing the music for this album, of playing the instrument with ...
Continue ReadingAndy Wheelock: View from Here
by Jack Bowers
When high-caliber musicians invest time and effort to produce music they believe in, one is loath to dismiss it as anything less than persuasive. On the other hand, any assessment of Colorado-based drummer Andy Wheelock's album, View from Here, must be tempered by an awareness that this is his special view, and that of his group, and that the overall result may not be embraced with equal fervor by every ear. That is one way of saying ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus
by C. Andrew Hovan
It was bad enough that 2020 brought with it the scourge of a pandemic of proportions not seen in a hundred years. But add to that the ugliness of racial tensions and xenophobia and one would be hard pressed to grapple with the idea of much good coming from such adversity. Michigan educator and saxophonist Jordan VanHemert found himself at the mercy of endless lockdowns and the need for new ways to communicate with others much like everyone in the ...
Continue ReadingJordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus
by Robin B James
The craft is tight, the feeling is refreshing, the sound is quick and precise, and the gestalt brings the individual voices of the musicians into group form, taking turns soloing and working together, interpreting the now into the fabric of the groove. The album covers a full range of expressive energy. “The Path Ahead" (9:28) starts us off with pep and energy, a perfect tempo for forward motion, the next tracks move into crisp contemporary seasons and issues, including that ...
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