Allison Wheeler

bio

A composer and innovative vocalist from California, Allison Wheeler has made her professional start in central Europe and is a rapidly budding talent on the Czech jazz scene. She is a“composer of great sonic imagination” (Peter Quinn, Jazzwise magazine) and a versatile voice with a love for creative challenge. After being named Undergraduate Vocal Soloist of the Year by Downbeat magazine in 2018, she relocated to Prague, where she has broken free from her straight-ahead roots and is forging a new path. Although she cites influences such as Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple, she has been compared by critics to artists such as Becca Stevens (Jazz Times) and Gretchen Parlato (Jazzwise) yet creates a world uniquely her own. Jazz-like in structure, her music seamlessly crosses genre lines, drawing influence from her love of folk tradition and the visual art world to construct a realm of imagination fueled by improvisation, nostalgia and a love for impressionism. 

A native Californian, Wheeler was involved in the Monterey Jazz Festival’s education program and appeared on the festival with their honors vocal group in 2014 and 2015. She moved on to study jazz at the University of Northern Colorado with Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh. At UNCO, she was a part of their premiere vocal jazz group “Vocal Lab,” with whom she won three graduate-category Downbeat awards and performed with artists such as the New York Voices, Aubrey Logan, and Vertical Voices, and also sang on the international Jazz Education Network (JEN) conferences in 2016 and 2018. Since moving to Europe, she has notably served on faculty at the Czech Jazz Workshop (2020, 2021) and appeared with Lizz Wright on the Prague Sounds Festival (2021). Her debut album as a bandleader,“Winterspring,” was released in July 2022 under the UK label Ubuntu Music. The album weaves tales of love, light and loneliness into a unique blend of styles driven by sweeping vocals and colorful accompaniment. Winterspring is a glimpse into Wheeler’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. 

album release summary

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 vocalist Allison Wheeler’s 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 driven by sweeping vocals and colorful accompaniment. The album is a glimpse into Wheeler’s inner world, brought beautifully to life with the help of her band — Daniel Bulatkin (piano/keyboards), Max Makagonov (double bass), Petr Nohavica (drum set) and guests David Dorůžka (guitar) and Luboš Soukop (soprano & clarinet). In order to both 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. 

— about the album, Winterspring