To paraphase what a wiser man than I has written of Don Cherry, ‘Kenny Wheeler didn't make music for his last few years, he was music’. Yes, the breath was gentler, the lines not so long, a frailty of tone crept in, exaggerated by the flugel horn's notorious difficulty in keeping pitch. Yet in Songs For Quintet, Wheeler's alchemical skills transform these restraints into strengths. There's nothing sombre, nothing melancholic about this release. Each cut sings with the breath of life. Like the lark ascending, Wheeler's solos, still graced with that easeful elegance where each note seems inevitable, rise and distill to an airy nothingness that takes our breath away even as his gently fades. It helps, naturally, that Wheeler chose favourite musicians for the session. Parricelli makes you forget the guitar is a percussive instrument as his chords and stylings swell and subside. France likewise remains the subtlest of sticks men, while Sulzmann, no stranger to mortality's trials, plays with that lyrical, breathy joy that is his alone. Not of course that every song is chamber music-like. ‘Sly Eyes’ kicks in with France in strutting march mode, while Laurence lays down a glowing bass break. ‘1076’ likewise pushes and tests, Parricelli yawing with effects, Sulzmann challenging with a squalling, broken tone.

Jazzwise spoke to Stan Sulzmann about the album

Did Kenny have a particular vision for this session?

Not really, this line-up had been playing together since the original Vortex in Stoke Newington days. We all have a collection of Kenny's tunes and were comfortable with Ken's way of working. We knew the music so it was quick to put together and very relaxed which is what I think Kenny needed in the latter years of his playing life.

What was new about the recording that comes through?

Maybe compositionally as Ken was always playing with fresh ideas. He was using more mixed meter but in Kenny's inimitable style, as in ‘Pretty Liddle Waltz’ and ‘Nonetheless’.

How was the mood in the studio at the time?

Actually I think we all felt honoured to be there. We were ‘all’ working to one end to do everything to give Ken our best support, musicians and engineers and not least [producer] Manfred Eicher who was so happy to be hearing Ken. Ken was happily ensconced in a booth with regular drinks arriving and seemed very comfortable with the playing conditions in this lovely EMI studio. Ken's working time span was short, finishing in the mid-afternoon so it was intense concentration on every performance.

You're a long time collaborator with Kenny. What made it special that you kept coming back together?

I've always loved his melodies since I first heard them in my early twenties. We played together in John Taylor's wonderful sextet. Just playing a written line together felt so right for me, the sound and phrasing. So of course I was getting a ‘free’ masterclass on the gig. In fact I never stopped learning from Ken. Ken was leading the way!

Kenny particularly liked this group of musicians: what do the other bandmembers offer, what made the combined sound special?

Kenny liked the colour that John Parricelli brought to the music maybe echoing some Frisellian influence. Kenny liked a free approach and never really directed how people should play so I think he saw and heard the members as individual ‘characters’ bringing their own ideas and identity to the mix. There is a lot of interplay in the group, which Kenny particularly liked.

What was Kenny's gift to jazz?

Being himself and his unswerving sense of direction and love of the music. Being such a profound inspiration to so many players and writers around the world.