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Dickerson (b. 1931) made a fairly 'big splash' when his first recordings appeared in the early 60s (Down Beat Critics Poll "New Star", 1962), but he's remained an enigmatic figure ever since. His early sides demonstrated a sure grasp of the Hampton/Jackson continuum in blazing through standards, but his original compositions on those dates reflected a spiritual, even mystical flavor that was expanded on in recordings into the early 80s.
Dickerson's distinctive melodic and rhythmic approach is complemented by his unique timbre on what is often a cold-sounding and unwieldly instrument - his use of rubber mallets specially-treated to produce a plush and very warm yet crisp sound, immediately recognizable. Of all his recordings, most are in the trio format, none larger than a quintet (with two drummers!), and no horn players appear. There is an underlying current of turbulence yet an overall air of serenity to his work.
Also curious (and frustrating to his small but devoted group of devotees) are Dickerson's long periods of inactivity; no recordings exist between 1966 and 1975, and his last released LP was in 1982. Word has it that he still performs sporadically around his native Philadelphia, even more rarely in New York and the west coast. (Anyone with more information is implored to contact the author!)
Among his more noted collaborators are Sun Ra (both in the 60s and 70s) and Andrew Cyrille, who performed on the great majority of Dickerson's recordings from 1961 (possibly Cyrille's first major recording?) through 1982.
Dickerson's discography with individual track information can be found on Peter Losin's website.
An essay on the Prestige/New Jazz recordings by Derek Taylor can be found at the One Final Note site.
An INTERVIEW with Dickerson (the first in many many years!) by Dmitry Zhukov appears in the Winter 2002 edition of One Final Note.
This
Is Walt Dickerson! (3/7/61) Prestige/NewJazz 8254 (OJC CD
1817-2) Austin Crowe, p; Bob Lewis,b; Andrew Cyrille,d
A Sense of Direction (5/5/61) Prestige New Jazz 8268 Crowe, p; Edgar Bateman, b (sic); Eustis Guillemet Jr. d (sic) [the instruments are listed in reverse; Bateman's the drummer...]
Relativity (1/16/62) Prestige New Jazz 8275 (OJC CD 1867-2) Crowe, p; Ahmed Abdul-Malik,b; Cyrille
To My Queen (9/21/62) New Jazz NJ8283 Andrew Hill, p; George Tucker, b; Cyrille, d [CD reissue, 10/96, OJC CD-1880-2]
Vibes in Motion ( "Impressions of Lawrence of Arabia") (1963) Audio Fidelity 6217 Crowe, p; Henry Grimes, b; Cyrille, d (Bruyninkcx lists this as recorded 1963, The label on my copy gives the date as 6/66, but I suspect that this is the release date of the reissue).
Unity (3/6/64), Audio Fidelity AFSD 6131 (reissued Chiaroscuro CR 2011, 1978) Walter Davis, Jr. p; Tucker, b; Bateman & Cyrille, d
[Bruyninkcx lists two unissued tracks with Bob Green, p; Mike Taylor, b; Edgar Bateman, d, Hilversum, 1/12/65]
Impressions of A Patch of Blue (1965) MGM E/SE-4358 Sun Ra, p & 'celeste' (sic; it's actually hpschd), Bob Cunningham, b; Roger Blank, d
Tell Us Only the Beautiful Things (7/21/75) Whynot (Trio) PA-7118 Wilbur Ware, b; Cyrille,d
Peace (11/75) SteepleChase (Inner City 2042) - reissued on CD (SC 31042) with an extra 5-min track (the CD also erroneously changed the recording date to 11/76) - Lysle Atkinson, b; Cyrille, d
Walt Dickerson 1976 (?/76) Trio/Whynot MTCJ-2009 Rudy McDaniel (Jamaladeen Tacuma), e bs; (one track); Ware, bs (3,4,5) Bateman, d (one track solo vibes)
Serendipity (8/11/76) SteepleChase SCS-1070 (reissued with an extra material on CD -SC 31070) Live recording; Rudy McDaniel (Jamaladeen Tacuma), e bs; Bateman, d (bassist listed as Tacuma on CD...)
Divine Gemini (2/9/77) SteepleChase SCS-1089 (CD SC 31089) Richard Davis, b
Tenderness (2/9/77) SteepleChase SCS-1213 (CD SC 31213) Richard Davis, b
Shades of Love (11/6/77) SteepleChase Direct Cutting SCD-17002 Dickerson solo (CD reissue 1998)
To My Queen Revisited (7/6/78) SteepleChase SCS-1112 (one alt. take on CD SC 31112) Albert Dailey, p; Andy McKee, b; Jimmi Johnsun, d
Visions (7/11/78) SteepleChase SCS-1126 (about 25 min extra material on CD) Sun Ra, p
To My Son (9/29/78) SteepleChase SCS-1130 Live recording; Andy McKee, b; Jimmi Johnsun, d
Landscape With Open Door (9/30/78) SteepleChase SCS-1115 Pierre Dorge, g
Warm-Up I / Warm-Up II (9/30/78) SteepleChase SCS-1980/81: A 45-rpm single of solo vibes - possibly a promo only - two c. 5 minute tracks subtitled "The 1980 SteepleChase Artist"
I Hear You John (10/2/78) SteepleChase SCS-1146 Live recording; Jimmi Johnsun, d - CD reissue, 1995, SCCD31146, with additional track including Andy McKee, b
Life Rays (2/82) Soul Note SN 1028 Sirone, b; Cyrille, d