The Widow in the Window

1990 studio album by Kenny Wheeler Quintet

Studio album by

Kenny Wheeler Quintet

Released

Mid 1990

Recorded

February 14–16, 1990

Studio

Rainbow Studio
Oslo, Norway

Genre

Jazz

Length

61:14

Label

ECM
ECM 1417

Producer

Manfred Eicher

Kenny Wheeler chronology

Music for Large & Small Ensembles
(1990)

The Widow in the Window
(1990)

Kayak
(1992)

The Widow in the Window is a studio album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler recorded over three days in February 1990 and released on ECM later that year. The quintet features rhythm section John Abercrombie, John Taylor, Dave Holland and Peter Erskine.^[1]

Writing and composition

"Ana", the longest piece on the album, was originally written for Alexander von Schlippenbach's Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (1990), recorded May the previous year. "Ma Belle Hélène" is a calembour which refers to Wheeler's two sisters, Mabel and Helen.^[2]

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars stating " Kenny Wheeler's music occupies its own unique area between post bop and free jazz and virtually all of his recordings are recommended to adventurous listeners, including this one."^[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kenny Wheeler

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Aspire"	12:28
2.	"Ma belle Hélène"	8:45
3.	"The Widow in the Window"	10:27
4.	"Ana"	14:52
5.	"Hotel le hot"	8:31
6.	"Now, and Now Again"	6:11

Personnel

Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn
John Abercrombie – guitar
John Taylor – piano
Dave Holland – bass
Peter Erskine – drums

References

^ "ECM 1417". ECM Records. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^ Original liner notes by Steve Lake
^ ^a ^b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed October 4, 2011
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1494. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.