Whit Dickey Trio - Emergence

Label: NotTwo, 2009
Catalogue No: MW 814-2
Format: CD

Tracks:

1) Conversation - 6:03
2) A Melding - 8:40
3) Mobile 7:36
4) Learning to Crawl 6:02
5) Rocker 5:54
6) Twirls 10:13
7) Last Taste 7:49
8) Plum Blossom 7:07

Line-up:

Eri Yamamoto – piano
Whit Dickey – drums
Daniel Carter - reeds, trumpet , flute

Recorded:

Recorded February 24, 2009 at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY

Review:

Ms. Yamamoto is a NY based jazz pianist who has been playing regularly with her own trio for nearly a decade. After releasing three discs on her own Jane Street label, Eri hooked up with Matt Shipp and William Parker and has been moving into freer playing and forms. After playing on two discs for William Parker, Thirsty Ear released two discs under Eri's name, another trio date and a duos session with William Parker, Hamid Drake, Daniel Carter & Federico Ughi. On each of these discs, Eri's playing gets more adventurous. I caught this trio with Eri, Daniel Carter & Whit Dickey at this year's Vision Fest (2009) and was knocked out by their performance. This is a studio recording and does have impressive sound and although these are group improvisations, it rarely sounds that way. "Conversation" is sparse and rather bluesy yet minimal piano, simmering muted trumpet and ultra subtle drums. What's is interesting about this disc is that both Daniel Carter and Whit Dickey are known for being some of downtown's most intense free improvisers, yet here they are unusually restrained and fit perfectly with the calm yet quietly provocative overall vibe. For "Get Up", it is as if the players are moving through a dream and swinging at a medium tempo. "Mobile" is even more sparse and haunting, with exquisite flute from DC and suspense-filled sounds from Eli and Whit. "Twirls" is aptly titles since Whit sounds like he is twirling, providing the central uplifting rhythmic flow with the piano and tenor spinning around him. Throughout this disc Eli paints a skeletal thread between the members of this fine trio, weaving as one elegant singular force. A surprise move, a sly feint, from what we might otherwise expect from these folks. (Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery)

About the musicians:

Whit Dickey is a somewhat mysterious figure. Anyone who was paying attention to The Music during the mid-90's will know him as the tremendous and uniquely gifted drummer who spent full part-and-parcel time with the phenomenal groups of David S. Ware and Matthew Shipp. To recap, Whit provided the trap-set foundation, pulse and flow to the deep classic sides Third Ear Recitation, Cryptology, DAO, Circular Temple, Flow of X, and Critical Mass (and Elsewhere by the Joe Morris Ensemble) during that time. In 1996, after parting ways with both of these groups, Whit went through a period of contemplation, woodshedding, and re-alignment. He gave proper time to his compositional urges, and developed material for his full debut as a leader. He recorded Transonic in January of 1997, along with long-time compatriot Rob Brown on alto sax and 'young' Chris Lightcap on bass. Released on AUM Fidelity in 1998, it was voted #3 in the Cadence Readers Poll for Top Records of that year. In 1999, Whit moved from his long-time dwelling in Brooklyn to an enclave a couple of hours north of NYC, into the country. That summer, during the downtime of reading mystery novels with a broken toe, he developed a new appreciation for the syncretic relationship between air frequencies and dance response. At the end of the summer, he decided to create a new document with these insights playing a large part thereof. The result was Big Top, recorded in November of that year and released on Wobbly Rail in the early summer of 2000. As with all of these Artists, but perhaps quite a bit more so in Whit's case, his full story remains to be told. (SJ, Audifidelity)

Since moving to the United States in 1995, Eri Yamamoto has established herself as one of jazz's most original and compelling pianists and composers. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has said, “My hat's off to her… already she's found her own voice.” The Eri Yamamoto Trio, with its unique sound and repertoire, has built a strong following in New York, and has made recent tours of the UK, Wales, Spain, Ireland, Germany and Japan, with appearances at such major festivals as Cheltenham, England; Terrassa, Spain; Bray/ Derry, Ireland; and Shiga, Japan. Eri has also been collaborating with such creative and celebrated musicians as William Parker, Daniel Carter, Hamid Drake, and Federico Ughi. Eri was born in Osaka, Japan, and began playing classical piano at age three. She started composing when only eight years old, and studied voice, viola, and composition through her high school and college years. In 1995, she visited New York for the first time, and by chance heard Tommy Flanagan performing. She was so inspired by her first experience of a jazz piano trio that she decided on the spot to move to New York and dedicate herself to learning jazz. Later that year, Eri entered the New School University's prestigious jazz program, where she studied with Junior Mance, LeeAnn Ledgerwood, and Reggie Workman. In 1999, while still in school, she started playing regularly at the Avenue B Social Club, a popular spot among jazz musicians in the East Village. There she developed a musical friendship with fellow pianist Matthew Shipp. In 2009, Eri received a Masters degree in Music Education/Composition from Shiga University, Japan.

Daniel Carter (born 1945 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania) is an American free jazz saxophone, flute, clarinet, and trumpet player active mainly in New York City since the early 1970s. Carter has recorded or performed with William Parker, DJ Logic, The Negatones, Thurston Moore, Yo La Tengo, Soul-Junk, Cooper-Moore, and Matthew Shipp, among others. He is a member of the cooperative free jazz groups Test, Other Dimensions In Music, and Ghost Moth.