This album is something I am wildly excited to share.
Compilations/reissues of this kind are exactly what we need as jazz fans. Taking really rare and pricy albums from the past, and making the music available for a reasonable price.
The liner notes are extremely well written, and tell the whole story behind this comp, so I won't go into too much detail. What I will say is that there is no doubt this music represents Dickenson's greatest contribution to jazz. This double LP set, released in 1972, was taken from 4 - 10" LPs recorded in the early 50's for the Vanguard imprint. What we now call mainstream or small group swing, really got it's beginnings from the players on these tracks. There was a time when the big band players were in a kind of limbo, in between bebop and Dixie. They managed to carve a niche for themselves, and Dickenson's septet help lead the charge.
Musically, most of the tunes are laid back with a jam-like feel. The soloing is top notch and inspired. Luckily, the fidelity is incredible from vinyl which I would categorize as only being very good. I cleaned it up and the results are excellent. I think you'll find there's wonderful clarity and the soloists are up front with lots of immediacy. From what I can tell, this collection was released to CD at some point but definitely appears to be OOP. Perhaps somebody can shed some light on that for us. Ripped at 24/44.1 wav and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC...enjoy the first post of 2013!!!
Vanguard VRS 8520/1
1972
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| Vol. 1 |
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| Vol. 2 |
Record 1
Tracks 1 - 5
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| Vol. 3 |
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| Vol. 4 |
Record 2
Tracks 6 - 12
