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Andy Wheelock

Andy Wheelock is a Drummer, Percussionist, Composer, and Educator. Wheelock is an active performer and can be heard performing regularly around the Front Range. He is a founding member of the Live Edge Trio, the Whee3trio, and KEWO, and can be heard playing with the Gonzalo Teppa Quintet, Ben Markley, New Stream Brass Ensemble, the University of Wyoming Jazz Faculty, and the Cheyenne Symphony. Wheelock has had the honor of sharing the stage with Adam Birnbaum, Bill O’Connell, Craig Handy, Ernie Watts, SK Kakraba, Jorge Glem, Bobby Shew, Chuchito Valdés, Joel Frahm, Henry Linarez, Bob Bowman, Ivan Trevino, and William Moersch.
 
As a composer and arranger, Wheelock writes regularly for his own recording projects as well as big bands, percussion ensembles, Samba Bateria’s, and Pan-Afro-Latin Ensembles. His debut record as a leader, View From Here ft. Ernie Watts, has received outstanding reviews and ample air time around the country. As a clinician and adjudicator, Wheelock has been a guest artist at Ohio State Univers"My teaching philosophy is based on the pedagogical theory of progressivism; in that I believe students’ interests must be a driving force of their learning experience. Once a student truly understands their interests and goals, I believe passion follows. Once the 'fire' has been lit, I strive to inspire my students to find new limits within themselves and encourage them to explore and develop their own unique musicality. I do this by emphasizing strong fundamental techniques as well as honest and specific self-assessment. Music as an art and industry, is constantly changing and I believe that understanding this is key to providing students with a viable musical education. I try to expose my students to as many musical styles, experiences, practices, and theories as possible in an effort to prepare them for such an industry." ity, Central Michigan University, Friends University, Columbus State University, Washburn, Hope College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wichita State, and the University of Illinois.

heelock currently serves as the Director of Jazz Studies and Percussion area coordinator at the University of Wyoming where he directs the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combos, Samba Bateria, Pan-Afro-Latin Drumming group, and the UWYO Percussion Ensemble.


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3
Album Review

Ben Markley: Live at Nocturne

Read "Live at Nocturne" reviewed 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 ...

6
Album Review

Andy Wheelock: Whee3trio: In The Wheelhouse

Read "Whee3trio: In The Wheelhouse" reviewed 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 ...

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Album Review

Andy Wheelock: View from Here

Read "View from Here" reviewed 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 ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus

Read "I Am Not A Virus" reviewed 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 ...

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Album Review

Jordan VanHemert: I Am Not A Virus

Read "I Am Not A Virus" reviewed 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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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Closing Time

OA2 Records
2024

buy

Secret Language

MaryLynn Gillaspie
2022

buy

I Am Not A Virus

Big Round Records
2021

buy

View from Here

Self Produced
2021

buy

Empire

From: Whee3trio: In The Wheelhouse
By Andy Wheelock

Ben's Tune

From: Closing Time
By Andy Wheelock

Videos

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