Gnu High

Luminessence, ECM's new audiophile vinyl-reissue series, is a kaleidoscope, shedding light on the jewels of the label's deep catalogue in elegant, high-quality editions - audiophile vinyl pressing, high-grade tip-on gatefold sleeves that include new liner notes.

Recorded in New York in 1975, Gnu High brought Canadian trumpeter Wheeler to a new level of international acclaim, for both his impassioned playing and his profoundly lyrical writing. Here Kenny is fronting an extraordinary quartet, with all masterful improvisers who had shaped their intuitive collective understanding as members of Miles Davis's groups. "What you hear," says Jack DeJohnette, "is the spontaneity of the moment." Dave Holland notes that Gnu Hugh "had this wonderful combination of the form and the shape and the harmony of Kenny's tunes but then this really free way of interpreting them." The album's gatefold sleeve includes new liner notes by Kenny's friend, colleague and biographer Nick Smart.

Kenny Wheeler: flugelhorn / Keith Jarrett: piano / Dave Holland: double bass / Jack DeJohnette: drums.