Alessandro Galati - Wheeler Variations (2020)

The Wheeler Variations consist of four songs: KEN, NY, WHEEL, ER, followed by some improvised pieces played in the form of variation.
As you can notice, the name of each song is a chunk of “Kenny Wheeler”, containing a specific number of letters, according to the number of the variations that follow.
For example, the first song “KEN”, is followed by three variations called “k”, “e [#1]”, and “n”. Each song is played by the whole group, whereas the variations are played by different combos of a few members.
This rather complex scheme is what makes the project really adventurous, yet maintaining a solid structure. As Kenny Wheeler declared in an interview “I'm still trying to find soppy melodies mixed with a bit of chaos”. The Wheeler Variations state my clear declaration of love to the imaginary world of Kenny Wheeler.

ALESSANRO GALATI – piano, comp, arr
SIMONA SEVERINI – vocals
STAN SULZMANN – tenor sax
STEFANO CANTINI – soprano sax
ARES TAVOLAZZI – bass
ENZO ZIRILLI – drums