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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 1988 CD adds two bonus tracks from the LP sessions, "Light Years" and "Prophesy." ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Just a super duo date with Sun Ra on piano, Walt Dickerson on vibes. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
Track Listing
| 1. Astro |
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| 2. Utopia |
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| 3. Visions |
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| 4. Constructive Neutrons |
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| 5. Space Dance |
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| 6. Light Years |
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| 7. Prophesy |
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| Featured Review | |
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I Hate This Part The Pussycat Dolls |
| Strange as it may sound, the incredibly ambitious plans to establish the Pussycat Dolls as one of Today's biggest artists, reflected even in the title of their second album "Doll Domination", have been a bit crushed by lack of public interest. It wasn't a good omen when lead singer Nicole Scherzinger's planned solo effort had to be postponed, after none of its leaked tracks generated much enthusiasm; nor the tepid reception the record's lead track "When I grow up" earned. Now the former burlesque dancing troupe promptly strikes again with one of their rather unusual ventures into ballad territory, displaying Scherzinger's vocal capabilities in full. "I hate this part" tells the story of an ending relationship, right when Nicole hits the glossy press announcing the beginning of a high-profile one with Lewis Hamilton. This is arguably better than any of the four hits they had after reaching a career peak with their debut; but, as it happened before with other instantly successful girl bands -The Spice Girls "Wannabe" is a good example- the power of "Don't Cha" may prove to be quite hard to match. ©2008 Shazam Entertainment Limited. All rights reserved. | |
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