Walt Dickerson & Sun Ra: Visions

Soul Jazz / Avant Jazz
premiera polska: 2022-12-09
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: Jewelcaseowe etui
opis:
Editor's Info:
Sun Ra had first worked as a session musician with vibraphonist Walt Dickerson in late 1965 or early 1966 on the album IMPRESSIONS OF A PATCH OF BLUE, issued by MGM Records under the name The Walt Dickerson Quartet. Rounding out the foursome with Dickerson and Ra were occasional Arkestra members Bob Cunningham (bass) and Roger Blank (drums). The set was an interpretation of Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack for the film "A Patch of Blue," but it was not the actual film soundtrack. The album was produced by the legendary Tom Wilson, who had produced what some consider Ra's debut, JAZZ BY SUN RA, on Wilson's short-lived Transition label, in 1957.
Dickerson performed in concert with Sun Ra's Arkestra on at least two known New York dates, one in 1977, the other in 1986. In the interim the two collaborated on this one-off duet album for the Danish label Steeplechase; it was recorded in 1978 and released in 1979.
The compositions are by Dickerson, though the musicians share equal billing on the cover. The recording location was not listed on the album. Some sources indicate that the album was recorded in Denmark, but Ra discographers Robert L. Campbell and Christopher Trent are confident it was recorded in New York.

allmusic.com
A largely overlooked duo improv date recorded on July 11, 1978, by the Danish jazz impresario Nils Winther, Visions matches Walt Dickerson's cool vibes with Sun Ra's idiosyncratic piano in a way that shows both men's contrasting styles to surprisingly cohesive effect. This was not the first time Dickerson and Ra had recorded together; producer Tom Wilson had used the duo on the soundtrack of the 1966 film Impressions on a Patch of Blue.

This was their first extended series of duo improvs, however, and each seems to know exactly when to let the other hog the spotlight for a while, as during the moment toward the end of the opening "Astro," when Dickerson lays out and lets Ra launch into a two-fisted free solo. Similarly, Ra leaves the extended opening of "Utopia" almost entirely to Dickerson, adding only a few explosive thumps and some Paul Bley-style picking and strumming of the piano's strings to Dickerson's graceful and melodic playing.

Fans of Sun Ra's outer space mythology and chanting lyrics will have to look elsewhere for their fun, but fans of Ra's exceptionally gifted and distinctive free jazz piano playing should be fascinated. Dickerson, one of the few jazz vibraphonists to have little audible debt to Lionel Hampton, also plays with his characteristic exploratory but controlled style. The CD adds two bonus tracks from the LP sessions, "Light Years" and "Prophesy."
by Stewart Mason

muzycy:
Sun Ra: Piano
Walt Dickerson: Vibraphone

utwory:
1. Astro 7:50
2. Utopia 8:14
3. Visions 2:52
4. Constructive Neutrons 10:12
5. Space Dance 8:17
6. Light Years 15:18
7. Prophesy 9:06

total time - 61:34
wydano: December 25, 2017
nagrano: Recorded in New York, unidentified studio, July 11, 1978