Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland, Bill Frisell - Angel Song

Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland, Bill Frisell — Angel Song

First-time LP release from the Luminessence Series

Tip-on gatefold jacket and double LP set

"Destined to go down in history as a jazz classic" was the verdict with which The Guardian greeted this album on its release in 1997, saying, "Wheeler's compositions and four of the world's greatest improvisers make for a tranquil set that rewards with every listening. This is beautiful, golden music."

Angel Song is among the apexes of the label's catalog, uniting four master-improvisers — each with a unique artistic identity — in an intimate, drummer-less quartet session. Kenny Wheeler is the composer of the nine hauntingly lyrical chamber-elaborations and endows them with his singular timbre on flugelhorn and trumpet in expressive melodic exchanges with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz.

Dave Holland's bass-foundation is as compelling as ever, giving Bill Frisell all the freedom for harmony-encompassing improvisation. The verdict of The Times was equally jubilant: "This is a stirringly beautiful album: Holland's lithe dependability providing the anchor for the dignified sonorousness of Konitz, the flickering grace of Frisell and the plangent tenderness of Wheeler himself."

Recorded February 1996, Power Station, New York