When Canadian-born, UK-based trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler passed away in 2014 at the age of 84, jazz lost a superlative artist whose evolving creativity had spanned decades. Songs for Quintet is Wheeler’s last recording, and it’s quietly gripping. Melodic and tinged with melancholy, Songs features an excellent British group interpreting top-notch originals. Wheeler sticks with flugelhorn here, and even though he’s not at full force, his lyrical solos are moving. Tenor saxophonist Stan Sulzmann and guitarist John Parricelli bring nuance and feeling to their playing, and bassist Chris Laurence and drummer Martin France are atmospheric rhythm-weavers.