6xCD Box Set
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An OtherMusic retail exclusive! Signed numbered retrospective limited edition of l000 copies.

Bill Dixon ranks right up alongside Ornette Coleman, among our finest living contemporary jazz composers. Having collaborated with Archie Shepp and Cecil Taylor in the early to mid-60's, Dixon organized both the Jazz Composer's Guild and the October Revolution in Jazz in l964, essentially the starting point for what would become known as "The New Thing" and the foundation for the likes of ESP-DISK. Over the past 30 years, Dixon has concentrated mainly on teaching but occasionally released select works on labels such as Soul Note and FMP. So this stands as a veritable gold rush by his stringent standards. Throughout this set, Dixon performs compositions for solo trumpet and flugelhorn of such astounding clarity, depth, and variety that I find myself transported into cinematic reveries that complement his sounds. Forget La Monte Young and all that backstabbing art-school rigmarole. THIS is Minimalism! After all, what could be more minimal than one artist/one instrument? And yet, it's so much more. In the solo world of Bill Dixon, breaths become punctuation, silence becomes accompaniment, an extended opportunity to explore the limitations of the horn. But Dixon's horn seemingly knows no limits. In a heartbeat, fluid melodic lines screech into impossible flurries of noise, the soul of expression. He is not afraid to process, enhance, multitrack or even to duet with himself as he does here on occasion, the purity of his vision shines through undiminished. CDs 1 through 5 collect many rare and previously unreleased recordings, with a heavy emphasis on compositions recorded in the early to mid-1970's. Included also is the controversial "Collection" (recently reissued by Cadence allegedly without Dixon's permission) in its entirety and in Dixon's intended sequence, mastered from his original tapes. Disc 6 is a revealing spoken-word Q&A with Professor Dixon. Accompanied by two deluxe 8x10 booklets of essays and reproductions of many of Dixon's wonderful paintings. Highest recommendation!