Bill Dixon

Go to the center of the sound....

You have to listen and try to get inside the sound.

- Bill Dixon

I came to Bill Dixon late in my jazz journey and in a strange way.

In 2019, my musical mentor sent me Bill Dixon’s Zottola trumpet mouthpiece.

If you look closely, you can see his name etched on the side, below Port Chester, N.Y.

Along with the mouthpiece, was a note from Dixon’s stepson, Jacob Vogel:

Before all of this, I knew very little about Bill Dixon; however, now I was motivated to learn more about him.

I did know about his RCA Victor album Intents and Purposes and that he played on Cecil Taylor's Blue Note record Conquistador! - both recorded in the same week in 1966. But that was about all I knew about him.

In my subsequent research, I found that in the development of post-bebop jazz, mainly because of the dearth of his recordings and overall absence in the performance arena, Bill Dixon’s importance has been overlooked. I also discovered that although Dixon’s leadership role in organizing the October Revolution in Jazz and the subsequent formation of the Jazz Composers’ Guild are well documented, very little about Dixon is easily found after 1968, when he left the New York Jazz scene for Bennington, Vermont.

In 1968, Dixon secured a teaching position at Bennington College and set up a Black Music department, which lasted until he retired from teaching in 1996. While at Bennington, he based all his musical activities around the college, rarely venturing outside. In his own words, he existed “in total isolation from the market places of this music.” A rare exception was when he went to Paris and performed a work called Autumn Sequences From A Paris Diary at the 1976 Autumn Festival:

Between 1966 and 1980, Bill Dixon did not record much. In the early 1970s, he recorded some performances at Bennington College, Paris, and Madison, Wisconsin, released later as Considerations 1 & 2 in 1981 on the obscure and short-lived Italian Fore label.

In 1980, Dixon had a “coming out” period that included an extensive European tour, performing at the Verona Jazz Festival, and a week of concerts at the Chapelle Des Lombards in Paris. But most importantly, he developed a lasting and important relationship with Soul Note records in Italy.

On this week’s journey, I want to highlight some of the Soul Note treasures released after 1980 and played by Dixon using this Zottola mouthpiece.

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“Pointless and boring.” That is one of the YouTube responses to Dixon’s Summer Song One: Morning from his Bill Dixon in Italy Volume I album. Well, that is one way to think about his music from 1980 until he died in 2010. Granted, all of this work is a complete departure from what he was doing on his major work Intents and Purposes and with Archie Shepp in 1967. Clearly, when Dixon went up to Vermont, his musical focus changed. To me, however, Dixon’s music post-1968 can’t really be viewed in the jazz context. It is something altogether different - it is a tributary of the Big River called Jazz. To appreciate it, you must turn your canoe into that stream and paddle its waters. You must put in the work to feel the rewards.

In these backwaters, I discovered a treasure of masterpieces in modern American music, but not necessarily in jazz. Dixon’s music is outside jazz in the same way that Messiaen's music is outside the Western musical tradition. Dixon is perhaps closer to Messiaen than anything in the modern jazz idiom.

For example, Bill Dixon in Italy Volumes I & II were recorded on his 1980 trip to Europe and released the same year. You need only to listen to Firenze to get a feel for the direction Dixon was headed:

And then, from his 1982 album November 1981, Dixon plays a short, interesting solo trumpet piece called Webern:

This is not jazz and, to me, sounds almost like field music in a swamp or jungle. Dixon is exploring the possibilities of his instrument, in the same way that Anthony Braxton’s For Alto was about the possibilities of his instrument (wanting his alto to sound like a piano). Is that pointless and boring? Well, that depends on if you’re at a place on your journey that allows the music to reach your soul.

Another example is Dixon’s 1990 release Son Of Sisyphus, a quartet release with just tuba, bass, and drums. Although some hints at jazz can be found in Vecctor, I find the compositions like interesting sound experiments. I also like Dixon’s piano playing. From this album here is Silences for Jack Moore.

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To me, Dixon’s creative music started to ferment in August 1993 in Milan, during his recording of Vade Mecum I released in 1994, and Vade Mecum II released in 1996. By now it seems Dixon has abandoned structures of notes for pure sound however remains respectful of classicism. He cites Webern, along with the rest of the serialists, but is not beholden to their methods.

From Vade Mecum I, here is the title track:

I like the soft energy of this piece, with two heavy bassists, Barry Guy and William Parker, going at it with Dixon’s horn over the top. Throughout, Tony Oxley provides superb percussion. From Vade Mecum II, Ebonite has a similar impact, but with more overall energy. These are epic albums.

His next two albums Papyrus I & II, both released in 2000, feature Dixon in a duet with only master drummer Oxley. These albums also feature Dixon on solo piano - a very nice touch. I find the music on these albums deep and mystical.

From Papyrus II, here is his piano solo Ritratto Di Allen Polite:

Also from Papyrus II, here is Couplet, a fine duet with Oxley:

While I prefer Dixon’s chamber-size music, I do find his 2008 Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra interesting. It sounds like an extension of George Russell’s late 1960s and early 1970s works Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature and Listen to the Silence, which we’ll explore a little further down the river.

Here’s a 30-minute documentary from 2009: Going to the Center - a wonderful opportunity to hear Dixon discuss his musical philosophy and see him playing music with some of his old students:

I think it’s also important to point out that Bill Dixon was first an artist before a musician. Many of his post-1968 album covers feature his artwork, like this one from Bill Dixon in Italy Volumes I:

On Bill Dixon’s birthday last month, Stephen Haynes, who played on Dixon’s first Soul Note albums in 1980, delivered a portfolio of Dixon’s lithographs to Gwenolee Zürcher at her gallery in the Village for her show The Art of Counterpoint: 8 Musicians Make Art. It‘s showing now until January 10, 2023. So if you’re in Manhattan this winter, please head over to 33 Bleecker Street to Gwenolee Zürcher’s gallery and play homage to Bill Dixon.

Here’s one more for the road. One of Bill Dixon’s last albums was the epic Tapestries for Small Orchestra, recorded in 2008 by a nine-piece group and released in 2009. This is music for meditation. From the album, here is Innocenenza. The last 5 minutes of this song are stunning:

Bill Dixon’s leadership role in encouraging New York musicians to pursue a collective, self-help approach to further their music and careers and his devotion to the academic pursuit of sound has been paramount. When will his music find the light of day? I hope this journey helps.

Next week on that Big River called Jazz, we’ll dig our paddles in to explore the waters of Marzette Watts.

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Until then, keep on walking….