Allison Wheeler: winterspring (UBU0116)

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of the gifted young vocalist Allison Wheeler, for the release of her debut album, winterspring, on 22nd July 2022.

From California, Allison made her professional start in central Europe and is a budding talent on the Czech jazz scene. She is a versatile singer with a love for creative challenge. Her music seamlessly crosses genre lines, drawing influence from the likes of Regina Spektor, Norma Winstone, Fiona Apple, Aoife O’Donovan and others. A storyteller at heart, Allison uses her jazz and visual art backgrounds to construct a world of her own imagination which is fuelled by improvisation, nostalgia and a love for impressionism.

Like many, Allison grew up singing in the local church. In high school, she was a part of the Monterey Jazz Festival’s honour vocal group--an experience that gave her the opportunity to perform twice at the famed festival as a student and that ignited a more serious interest in music. The vocal group was directed by Kerry Marsh and Julia Dollison, whom Wheeler later followed to Colorado to pursue a degree in jazz after leaving art school in 2015.

Allison finished her undergraduate studies in jazz voice in 2018 at the University of Northern Colorado, studying under Julia and Kerry. She was named “Undergraduate Vocal Soloist of the Year” by DownBeat Magazine in 2018 and in her years at UNCO was a member of the university’s top vocal ensemble, Vocal Lab, with whom she won three more DownBeat awards (2016, 2017, 2018). With Vocal Lab, she had the opportunity to perform at the annual Jazz Education Network (JEN) conference in 2016 and 2018 and alongside artists such as the New York Voices, Aubrey Logan, and Vertical Voices. Right after graduating college, Wheeler took a teaching job in Prague, Czech Republic, where she is currently based and is regularly performing with her band. Her self-titled project was started with the young and talented pianist Daniel Bulatkin and his trio, with whom she has played throughout central Europe in notable settings including the Jazz Dock club in Prague, Jazzinec Festival in Trutnov and the Písek Jazz Festival. She also recently had the honour performing with Lizz Wright at the Prague Sounds Festival in September 2021 and has been the vocal clinician for the Czech Jazz Workshop for the last several years. The upcoming winterspring album will be a debut release for Allison and her band.

The music on Allison’s debut album is the culmination of four years of writing and vulnerable self-examination, winterspring weaves a narrative of hope inspired by famous storytelling and personal anecdotes. The title is a term that was created accidentally during a free write session in her college bedroom, and she has since then been unpacking its parallels in her life. winterspring tells a classic tale of opposing forces working together towards growth — What was intended solely as an outlet for personal expression evolved into an exploration and understanding of the human condition. Jazz-like in structure, the album weaves tales of love, light and loneliness into a unique blend of styles which are driven by sweeping vocals and colourful accompaniment. The album is a glimpse into Allison’s inner world, brought beautifully to life with the help of her band — Daniel Bulatkin (piano/keyboards), Max Makagonov (double bass), Petr Nohavica (drums) and guests David Dorůžka (guitar) and Luboš Soukup (soprano sax & clarinet). In order to find peace in the midst of inner struggle and to guide others to do the same, winterspring is a message of hope and growth in the midst of darkness.

Allison describes the background to the project: “Making and releasing ‘winterspring’ is huge a dream for me, and I’m so ready for everyone to hear it. I wrote the first song and title track in college and worked on the last one in a COVID lockdown-song-writing-course-over-zoom led by a big inspiration of mine, Becca Stevens. The writing is as much autobiographical as it is made up — I’ve been enamoured with great storytelling from a young age and the music is influenced by many of my favourite storytellers from different art forms. Looking back, I see that I’ve written most of it to reconcile and make peace with a battle I’ve been fighting within myself. In many ways, I think the record will set me free. It’s been a way to express and deconstruct the pains and the joys of life, and I hope others will be able to relate to it and find themselves moved by the world we’ve created. The project would be nothing without the help of my band, Daniel Bulatkin (piano/keyboards), Max Makagonov (double bass) and Petr Nohavica (drums). We began playing together when I first moved across the world to Prague and have evolved from playing standards together in a practice room to creating meaningful art. They’ve stuck with me through the last few years and have brought my songs to life in ways I could never have imagined on my own!”

Concerning her new relationship with Ubuntu Music, Allison explains: “I was fortunate to get in touch with Ubuntu thanks to Daniel Bulatkin (the piano player on this project whom I dub the master of connecting people). Upon getting to learn more about how Ubuntu works, I’ve been very impressed with the love and care Martin shows for this label and for supporting artists out there, specifically new ones like me. Martin’s passion for what he does radiates from him even just over zoom calls — I am extremely excited and honoured to be a part of that. I’ve so far been overwhelmed with the task of releasing my first album and am so thankful to now have more guidance and support through the process. I’ve had some help along the way from some great individuals, but this joining of forces is a game changer. ‘winterspring’ now has the opportunity to be released in the way I feel it deserves!”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, shares his thoughts: “A mutual acquaintance introduced me to Allison. Candidly, at first, I didn’t know what to expect. However, after just one listen, I was absolutely mesmerised with her voice and her compositions. Allison’s music is fresh, distinctive, and seductive. We’re delighted to be releasing her debut album and we welcome her to the Ubuntu Music Family.”