Not to be confused with Azymuth, a Brazilian jazz trio.
Azimuth was a British jazztrio, active from 1977 through the early 2000s.[1]
Azimuth began as a duo composed of vocalist Norma Winstone and her husband, pianist John Taylor.[2] In the mid-1970s, Taylor contacted several record companies with the goal of recording a duo album, but during his appointment with ECM Records founder Manfred Eicher, the latter suggested that they form a trio with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, and Azimuth was born.[2][3] The group's first release was a 1977 ECM album; two further albums quickly followed, with later albums coming in 1985 and 1995.[4][5]
Wheeler died in 2014,[6] and Taylor died the following year.[2]
Critic John Fordham wrote that the group conjured "a unique chemistry of low-key free improvisation, sometimes wordless vocals, jazz and classical music, and Taylor compositions that often sounded becalmed yet simmering with urgent implications."[2]Richard WilliamsofThe Times described them as "one of the most imaginatively conceived and delicately balanced of all contemporary chamber jazz groups."[7]
