Jimmy Giuffre, and now Walt D. May is a cruel month is year. Rumors of Dickerson’s return to recording have been circulating for the past few years, spurred mainly by several “out-of-the-blue” interviews (links escape me at the moment) that revealed his activities over the past several decades. He was poised for a comeback on par with the one staged by Henry Grimes, but mortality has caught up and made it an impossibility. As consolation we still have the records, reflective of bursts of activity rather than a steady stream. I did a survey of his Prestige titles for One Final Note back in 2000 & while the prose is a little painful to revisit my sentiments remain the same. The platter pictured above is a bit harder to come by, but it’s worth the search as it’s a split of two sessions w. Rudy McDaniel (soon to be rechristened Jamaladeen Tacuma) and Edgar Bateman or Wilbur Ware and Andrew Cyrille as his running mates. The companion, Tell Us Only of Beautiful Things is even better by my lights, focusing on the Cyrille/Ware tandem over sidelong cuts. Both are rare, but the latter may still be available as a download here. Do check it out if you’re not yet familiar.
Dickerson was a colossus on his instrument and a continuing influence on many who came after. Matt Moran and Jason Andasiewicz are just two descendants that spring to mind. This hastily written appreciation does him little justice, but he certainly sits highly within my personal pantheon. Here’s hoping he’s sharing spirited mallet exchanges with Hampton and Jackson in the great beyond.
Posted by derek on May 17, 2008 6:44 AMVery sad news. May he rest in peace. He was a unique and beautiful player.
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at May 19, 2008 9:53 AMDerek, I think you started me on Walt with a review you gave of 'Serendipity.' I was embarrassed I never listened to him aseven though I love the vibes so much. While I enjoyed the album, it was the smaller groups and the solo recording on Steeplechase that grabbed me. I was always a huge Bobby fan but hadn't listened to him much anymore and at this (as now) stage, I preferred the more ethereal Walt. I started digging into his life at that time and was so sad to see all the inactivity in his career. Now, while I might feel that many artists sometimes have a little too much to dig into (for my tastes), I had to figure out why this was. Reading an interview somewhere online introduced me to Walt in words. He really sounded bitter about the whole record label thing, saying he never gets his due financially and doesn't want to record for labels outside the US anymore (beef with Steeplechase?). He also went on to say that he was still playing in his home and that seemed satisfactory to him. Well, unlike some artists in other fields (say like Henry Darger for an extreme example) if they paint or sculpt or photograph or write without leaving the house, there is an object left behind. All that music Walt left to only the air in his house practicing just drives me crazy. It seems that Walt didn't really care to leave more music or further shape his legacy with a picture (well, sounds) from so many years, and, especially, his later decades. The evolution from Prestige to Steeplechase is pretty substantial. I mean, there is something like 25 years of not recording an album (which is now until the end of his life) that he hasn't left a musical document from. He probably did the occasional concert but it just seems strange to me and the biggest thing that Walt leaves me with is a real mystery to his concerns about the importance of art/music in general. The interview I read from what I felt was a too obliging interviewer (I think it was that Dark Forces Swing blog one), I recall, left me with a feeling that he sounded so self-assured as to sound not self-assured. Maybe he just wanted to be appreciated on a level so high that instead of trying to get there playing, he just laid down the mallets publicly a long time ago. What's sad for me is he never will reconsider that choice now.
Posted by: Ted at May 26, 2008 2:15 PMT, beautiful post! And interesting points about Dickerson’s complicity in his obscurity, an ego can be a terrible thing for an artist with such talent.
Sorry my soupcan’s been so silent. Recent move to new digs & other life changes have been taking up my time. I’ll reconnect soon.
No worries. All good around here. Berlin's been looking better lately. Took me three days for this post to go through though. Didn't even know it actually went. Tried to watch 'Blast of Silence' the other day and couldn't get through the first twenty minutes or so. Thought of you because I think you were mentioning it somewhere. If you haven't yet, might not bother.
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