Vibraphonist Walt Dickerson 4/16/28-5/15/08

May 18, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: amazing records, andrew cyrille, andrew hill, bassist, cardiac arrest, george tucker, grove pennsylvania, intriguing records, jazz fan, jerry goldsmith, Notes, pianist, relativity, sad news, sense of direction, shelley winters, sidney poitier, sun ra, vibraphonist, walt dickerson, willow grove
amazing records

andrew cyrille

andrew hill

bassist

cardiac arrest

george tucker

grove pennsylvania

intriguing records

jazz fan

jerry goldsmith

Notes

pianist

relativity

sad news

sense of direction

shelley winters

sidney poitier

sun ra

vibraphonist

walt dickerson

willow grove

Sad news to report. On May 15th, vibraphonist Walt Dickerson died of cardiac arrest at his home in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He was 80. Walt made a string of amazing records in the 1960s for Prestige that rarely receive much notice beyond the realm of the hardcore jazz fan. I highly recommend them - This is Walt Dickerson, A Sense of Direction, Relativity, and my favorite, To My Queen - a quartet date with bassist George Tucker, drummer Andrew Cyrille and pianist Andrew Hill. Walt also cut some stuff for SteepleChase Records, and he collaborated with Sun Ra. They made a few intriguing records together, including Impressions of a Patch of Blue, based on Jerry Goldsmith's music for the Academy Award winning film starring Sidney Poitier and Shelley Winters (you MUST watch this movie). Walt's music is not so easy to find, but very much worth the effort. He will be missed.

-Josh
© 2008 WBGO

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