Odyssey

Contents 5 CDs Music 1 CD Spoken Word 1 Booklet: Writings Odyssey: An Introduction by Stephen Horenstein Man With a Trumpet by Graham Lock Winter 1999 by Ben Young The Exercise by Jason Zappa Jason Zappa's Final Report (Ensemble III) by Bill Dixon Questions & Answers by Bill Dixon 1 Folio: Paintings Works on Paper (13 color reproductions) by Bill Dixon

Real Audio Sample One
Real Audio Sample Two

Five CD's of primarily solo trumpet; one CD of spoken word, a folio of l3 color reproductions of painted works, a brochure with texts by and about the artist (and among others with essays by Graham Lock and Ben Young); that is the entire package of Bill Dixon that you get with this box. Self-produced by Dixon in a numbered and signed edition of 1000 pieces. Released on his own imprint, this work is his definitive statement on the topic of solo playing and individual trumpet technique.

Most of the examples are archival performances from the Seventies, when Dixon taught at Bennington College and religiously documented his development process on tape. But not all are numbers for solo trumpet. On a small portion Dixon plays solo piano or, with the help of overdubbing, duos with himself (on trumpets and/or piano); and also a duet with a keyboardist finds its way in!

The music can be best characterized through what it is NOT; it is not rhythmic, not thematic, and except for electronic delay, there are no repetitions on a small or a large scale. Because of this, each piece stands apart as a unique entity; the presence of the artist in every single instant is fully tangible. The music has mostly a start, narrative quality, rooted in a general melancholy feeling. Dixon's communicativeness peaks on disc six, which he actually speaks, without using any instruments except for a tape recorder! Here his speaking voice narrates, about music, about solo trumpet, about music education, about the music business, about Black people in America, about ODYSSEY...this too is an extremely compelling and informative component.

In his music, Dixon succeeds in magical ways in unifying obvious contradictions: concentration and release, beauty and energy, thickness and clarity, and, finally, highest abstraction with the expression of deep emotion. Solving the riddle of these, which such records can do, is a large part of the allure of this music. But as deep as one wishes o submerge oneself in this sound-cosmos, there always seems to be another riddle beyond. Is it possible that the hectic phrases emitted are nothing else than self-reflexive copies of the solemn, lonely wails of other places? Analogous to the endlessly barren landscapes of chaos theory?

If the music is magical to a high degree, the creator on the contrary isn't flaky or mystical. Although Dixon underscores some discographical detail (among other things, that some material in the box was first published earlier‹though hard to find‹2 lp edition.); the accompanying texts and the spoken explanations on many different themes show that Dixon is able to situate his music with a great degree of accuracy within the greater frameworks of society, culture, and business (especially being shut out of it). But in spite of his impressively precise spoken expression and the clear logic of his trains of thought, Dixon remains a puzzle; the 75-year old seeks and finds the wonder of the cosmos in himself.

Robert Stubenrauch (translated from the German by Ben Young)

International customers: Please note that due to the weight of this set, an additional shipping charge will be added to your total as follows: $5.00 surcharge to Canada and $14.00 surcharge to the rest of the world.