Windmill

Norwegian band THE WINDMILL was formed in the fall of 2001, with Jean R. Viita (keyboards, vocals) as the instigator and and Morten Clason (sax, flutes, guitars, vocals, keyboards) and Arnfinn Isaksen (bass) as additional founding members. Bent Jensen (guitars), Vidar Kleivane (drums) and Erik Borgen (guitars, vocals) were added to the line-up shortly after, and for the next few years The Windmill was actively rehearsing, writing material and performing live when possible…

Long considered a holy grail of British jazz, trumpet legend/iconic composer Kenny Wheeler's classic 1969 Fontana leader debut, Windmill Tilter, has remained curiously out of print - never, in fact, appearing legitimately on CD.
Until now. Thanks to Andy Gray and BGO Records - a label responsible for a wealth of 1960s and '70s British jazz reissues - Windmill Tilter is finally available on CD and it's been worth the wait. Not only does it find Wheeler - listed here as "Ken," a Canadian expat who, emigrating to England in the 1950s, quickly made it into the British jazz elite, despite an introverted nature that might have been self-limiting, had he not been such a remarkable player - in early fine form as a composer, but with the participation of saxophonist/bandleader John Dankworth's Orchestra, it's a window into the early careers of a couple other younger players destined for greatness…