Toronto pianist Brian Dickinson let more than two decades go by between the release of his two trio albums. In 1993, he put out the standards-heavy Live At The Senator. And while there have been duo, quartet and other discs in the years after, it wasn’t until last year that Dickinson, who is now in his mid-50s, released the studio trio CD Fishs Eddy. That impeccably recorded album was in the running for a Juno Award this year, and with good reason. It’s a rich and revealing collection of music from an assured and lucid pianist who could already burn in the early 1990s, but who’s in his prime now. Featuring Dickinson along with the A-list American bassist George Mraz and the young but mature-beyond-his-years Toronto drummer Ethan Ardelli, Fishs Eddy is a gorgeous and substantial listen. Between its two standards and six originals, the disc reflects the influence of two of Dickinson’s main heroes — Richie Beirach, who taught him for two years when Dickinson lived in the U.S., and Bill Evans, who informs some of Dickinson’s harmonic choices and echoes in his lyricism. The standards — I Loves You Porgy, which opens the disc, and the mid-way track Never Let Me Go — are lush ballads that Evans notably elevated. Dickinson, Mraz and Ardelli do the great material proud. In the distinctive and finely wrought originals, you can often hear an appreciation of Beirach’s piquant, post-Evans harmonies. Mraz, who played with Beirach and recorded on some of his classic early 1980s albums, is a perfect fit on Fishs Eddy, and it seems as if Dickinson sought to maximize the bass great’s participation, assigning him arco lead duties on the theme of the waltzing pieces Delaware Daze and Limbo. On other tracks, it’s often Mraz’s commanding bass that takes the first solo. Other highlights include the straight-eighths title track, with its sunny and then knotty feels, and the surging piece Gateway. As compositions and performances, both expertly blend musical complexity and emotional directness. Dickinson recently told me that his next project will feature two saxophones, tenor saxophonist Kelly Jefferson and alto player Luis Deniz. “A Crosscurrents sort of band,” Dickinson wrote me, referring to pianist Evans’ 1978 album with hornmen Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh. I have high hopes for this album, of course. But let’s hope that Dickinson doesn’t stall too long before putting out his third trio disc. As a composer and a player, he obviously flourishes in that format too.
Top Canadian Jazz CDs:
1. Darren Sigesmund, Strands III (self-released)
2. Marianne Trudel, La vie commence ici (Justin Time)
3. Mike Murley / Reg Schwager / Steve Wallace, Looking Back (Cornerstone)
4. Steve Kaldestad, Straight Up! (Cellar Live)
5. Neil Swainson/Don Thompson, Tranquility (Cornerstone)
6. Brian Dickinson, Fishs Eddy (Addo Records)
7. Kevin Dean, Weather Permitting (Addo Records)
8. Kirk MacDonald, Vista Obscura (Addo Records)
9. Rich Brown, Between Heaviness and Here (Addo Records)
10. Jim Head, Zoetrope (self-released)
11. Roddy Ellias Trio, Monday’s Dream (self-released)
12. Dave Neill, Daylight (self released)
Brian Dickinson was about 12-years-old, working as an usher at the Stratford Theatre Festival, when he first saw Oscar Peterson play the piano. Although Dickinson was born in Guelph, his family moved to Stratford when he was four and as a youth he worked at the campus theatre where there was always a top-flight summer jazz schedule. He got to hear many of the best players from the golden age of jazz: Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Carter, Gary Burton and the pianists he particularly admired, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Montreal-born Peterson. “The first time I saw him and realized how good he was, it was incredibly disappointing,” the Port Credit resident of almost four years said in an interview this week. “I thought, ‘well, I should just pack it in. But then I started practicing like crazy. “The second time I saw him and realized again just how good he was, it was inspiring.” The anecdote about Peterson, who lived in Mississauga for the last 35 years of his life, has eerie parallels to the piano giant’s own personal encounter with the ghost of jazz genius past from his own youth. The self-described “snotty-nosed teenager” with his own radio program at 15 got a lesson in humility from his father Daniel who figured out a way to provide a governor for the prodigy’s rapidly expanding ego. He brought home a record of Art Tatum playing Tiger Rag and played to for his son. Oscar thought he’d figured out the joke and told his father that he knew what was going on – there were two pianos being played at the same time by different people. “He seemed to take a lot of pleasure informing me that this was one man and blind at that,” Peterson recalled in his autobiography A Jazz Odyssey. “I sank into a morass of dejection and would not go near a piano for a month.” Exposure to musical greatness in youth – as daunting and soul-scaring as it feels at the time – can provide a resolve to strive for excellence that can drive the wilful (and skilful) musician a very long way. In Dickinson’s case, it has spurred him on to a fine career as a leader, accompanist and teacher, a career that not that many people know about because it has been carved out in the jazz stream— a tributary of the musical world seemingly governed by the law of diminishing returns. In mid-March, Dickinson will have a chance to win his third Juno award at ceremonies being held this year in Hamilton. He’s won two previous Junos for best jazz album, one with Mike Murley in 1990 for Both Sides and one the next year for Brian Dickinson in Transition. He was also nominated in 2012 for an album featuring Boston-born Jerry Bergonzi on sax called other Places. This year he’s nominated in the new category of Best Album-Group for his trio recording with young Toronto drummer Ethan Ardelli and the masterful bassist George Mraz whose impact on jazz was felt from the moment he emigrated from Czechoslovakia to the U.S. in 1968 and began playing with Dizzy Gillespie. He was in Oscar Peterson’s trio for three years after Sam Jones left in 1970 because he could no longer travel. A CBC radio interview of Peterson by Bob Smith at the time he joined the trio finds Peterson accurately predicting that “he’s going to one of the great voices in jazz on the bass.” Mraz and Dickinson are two of a group of fly-fishing buddies who love to ply their hobby in the Catskills in upper New York State. The Juno-nominated title song Fishs Eddy, references a hamlet along the Delaware River. “It’s a lot quieter than my last one,” says Dickinson of the contemplative album, which features six originals and two standards. “This is my mid-life crisis record,” jokes the 53-year-old. It was recorded “stupidly fast” on the jazz-friendly Addo label in just four-and-a-half hours with the first four songs all being one-take wonders, done in a total 45 minutes. Part of the reason for that is the magic of Mraz, says the Port Credit resident. “I think he’s the best bass player for a pianist. He has unbelievable ears and his intuition is perfect because he knows when to follow, when to jump in with you and when to support you from behind.” Dickinson has been teaching in the jazz program at Humber College, where he also was a student, for 30 years. He heads the piano department and has helped nurture several generation of players, some of whom he will be “competing” against in the Juno category. The pianist seems to specialize in duos, probably because of his collaborative sensitivity. He’s recorded duet albums with Lee Konitz, Ted Quinlan and, most famously, the great ex-pat Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, who died last Sept.14. Dickinson learned about the project in an interesting way. He had played with Wheeler at the Toronto jazz festival and subsequently toured with him in Ontario and upstate New York. Wheeler was giving an interview to Cadence magazine in the U.S. when he was asked what his next project would be. “Brian and I are recording a duo record,” he replied, much to the shock and delight of his pianist. Dickinson and his frequent bassist Jim Vivian flew to Britain for Wheeler’s funeral. Dickinson organized a tribute concert to Wheeler at Humber in November. So what’s the best way for a jazz musician to resolve a mid-life crisis? How about reviving that much beloved, fiscally irresponsible but totally irresistible concept known as the jazz big band? Dickinson is tempting the fates, considering taking a sabbatical and damning the torpedoes by putting together an 18-piece big band he plans to tour and record. Many of the masters may be gone, but the jazz odyssey carries on.
NOTES:
• The tentative name for Dickinson’s big band is The Rhythm Method.
• Over 30 years of performing, he’s worked closely with numerous musicians, but is perhaps been most closely associated with Pat LaBarbera, with whom he has frequently played and has made two albums. He’s put out 10 albums under his own name and estimates he’s been a sideman on another 60 or so.
• Dickinson played piano on four CDs by Kieran Overs, who also lives in Port Credit. He was also prominent on the recent release by local vocalist Carol McCartney. Dickinson did several arrangements and played piano and provided the “contemporary vibe” McCartney was seeking for the record. Dickinson says McCartney was easy to work with. It was almost all recorded straight off the floor, with no overdubs. “If she did two takes, they both sounded fantastic,” he says.
• The pianist got a surprise not long ago when he arrived for a Mike Malone Jazz Orchestra session to rehearse on a tribute piece to Kenny Wheeler that was being done in three movements. The normal guitarist, Reg Schwager wasn’t available so there was a substitute. It was Dickinson’s son Sam who studied, as his father did, at the New England Conservatory and is now pursuing his master’s degree at McGill University in Montreal. The younger Dickinson was part of the JazzFM Youth Band and was featured on the JazzFM.91 program Jazzology as a Humber College student.
• Asked why certain works get nominated for Junos while others don’t, Dickinson says, “there is a certain amount of randomness involved.” He served as a Juno judge several years ago and says each judge was send a huge stack of CDs to review. You picked your top 10 and then email discussions ensue to arrive at a winner.
• Fishs Eddy was selected sixth on the list of top 12 Canadian jazz albums of 2014 by well-respected Ottawa Citizen jazz critic Peter Hum.
• the entry on Dickinson in the Canadian jazz bible, former Globe and Mail critic Mark Miller’s The Miller Companion to Jazz in Canada refers to Dickinson’s “attractive mainstream style notable for the lightness and grace of his touch, the balance of his lines and the controlled sweep of his solos at length.”
We are going to start our reviews off with Brian Dickinson and Ted Quinlan’s “Around the Bend”. Released by Addo Records in the fall of 2010, once you put this album in your car, its never coming out. Featuring Dickinson on the Piano, and Quinlan on the Guitar, the album presents compositions by both musicians respectively. One of our favourite songs on the album is “Vibrolux”, a composition by Quinlan, originally featured on his debut album “Streetscape” (review to come). Despite our love for the original recording, Dickinson adds a whole knew element to the piece with his piano playing. Like all the songs on the album, “Vibrolux” is well organized with Quinlan and Dickinson taking turns soloing and playing the rhythm. Another song on the album to note is “Love theme from “Sparticus””, a song originally composed by master pianist Bill Evans. Our favourite part of the song is the introduction, which begins with Dickinson on the piano. As the piano progresses, Quinlan joins in on the guitar creating a beautiful harmony that you may have to stop and rewind to listen to over and over. We believe that this album should be added to any jazz lover’s “must have” list. A link to the album on itunes can be found below. Ted and Brian, you two truly know how to make beautiful music.
Toronto – I’m generally not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but this year, inspired after reading Alex Ross’ Listen to This, I decided that I would take it upon myself to expand my musical horizons somewhat, digging a bit deeper into genres such as classical and jazz. So when the opportunity arose to check out Lee Konitz in a concert presented by The Jazz Performance and Education Centre (JPEC), I gladly took it. Konitz is a jazz legend. He’s been playing since the ’40s and has collaborated with many of the greats of the genre, most famously on Miles Davis’ Birth Of The Cool. Konitz was backed up on this occasion by the talented Brian Dickinson Trio. the interplay between the musicians was pretty impressive. Drummer Barry Romberg was especially entertaining to watch, but each player had their moments. In fact, on the second song, Konitz left the stage and the trio did a number on their own. Konitz is an interesting performer to watch. Casually dressed and wearing sunglasses, he didn’t say too much, but addressed the crowd on a few occasions. He told stories about his songs, such as “Thingin,” a tune based on “All The things You Are,” which he described as “thievery in good spirit.” “I put a little melody on top of it. I didn’t tell Jerome Kern I was going to do that.” He further demonstrated his sense of humour by referring to the trio as “my colleagues … they know their names,” before holding his hand up to his mouth as if to let the audience in on the secret that he forgot their names. If he did in fact forget their names, that’s probably forgivable, as they did form a bond as performers that night, improvising through various numbers. Konitz even included the audience in on the act, inviting everyone to sing a note along with the band during one number. I guess everyone at the Glenn Gould Studio that night can now add their names to the long list of Lee Konitz’s collaborators.
THE BRIAN DICKINSON QUINTET
Soul Mission
Elan Jazz EJ1001
Not to my surprise, last week I received a cd from Ontario. It is an album entitled: “Soul Mission”. What is extraordinary, is that it is the BRIAN DICKINSON QUARTET. Does that say something to you?
Brian Dickinson – Piano, Jerry Bergonzi – Sax Tenor, Jim Vivian – Bass, Ted Warren – Drums
Knowing that Mr. Bergonzi (who is considered at present by several, one of the best sax players on the international scene) made party of this quartet, there is no doubt that “Soul Mission” is of a credibility to all tests. You will thus understand that it is enough abassourdissant to receive the material of musicians of this staure. It’s required of me to listen to their sampling and to review it. Wait,wait! What did I choose you think? The eight pieces that one finds here are the fruit of five years work carried out by Dickinson (of Toronto) and Bergonzi (of Boston), but curiously the recording lasted only four hours. This large work was entirely prepared. Soul Mission contains besides, only original compositions. Jim Warren on his side, is known to have taken part in several jam sessions in Montreal. One told me the same thing of Jim Vivian. The genius of Dickinson Quartet is surely in its rhytmic section. The centre piece in my opinion, is in position 7 on the album and it is entitled “Crazy Makers”, where one can feel fluidity between the ideas, the emotion and dexterity. Absolutely a delight for the ears. I give them a mark of 10 out of 10 on the prize list. Here is a well deserved success!!!
Karolyn Verville
LES AMIS DE LA BOITE – Jazz E-Zine
Not every jazz musician moves to New York City. Many very talented players enrich the local scenes of cities around the world. Pianist Brian Dickinson is an integral part of Toronto’s deep pool of gifted musicians. Tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi made a very successful move to New York City in the early seventies but eventually moved back to his native Boston where he continues to teach, play locally and tour. One of the places he travels to on these tours is Toronto, where he often joins forces with Brian Dickinson at clubs like the Top O’ the Senator. Soul Mission is a collaboration between the bright, sparkling piano playing of Dickinson and the dense, meaty tone of Bergonzi, on a set of bop-derived modern jazz that owes a lot to the music of Sonny Rollins and early John Coltrane. The music consists entirely of original material written by either Dickinson or Bergonzi. Bergonzi finds his compositional inspiration in the vast vocabulary of hard bop, while Dickinson writes darker, more harmonically daring pieces of music. The rhythm section of drummer Ted Warren and bassist Jim Vivian builds a solid yet flexible rhythmic backdrop for Dickinson and Bergonzi to solo against, as well as contributing several tight, wonderfully restrained solos of their own. The liner notes to Soul Mission tell us that this particular group completed an engagement at a local club just before recording this CD. The musicians are obviously comfortable with and confident in each other’s playing, which creates an atmosphere of cohesiveness that is reflected in this very solid set of mainstream jazz.
Reviewed by Neil Henden – PLANET JAZZ MAGAZINE – Winter/Spring 2004
This is Brian Dickinson’s 5th album as a leader and is a collaboration with the Boston saxophonist, Jerry Bergonzi. You may have caught them at one of their appearances at the Top O’ the Senator and if so, you already know how well they perform together. They are accompanied by local stalwarts Jim Vivian on bass and Ted Warren, drums. The material consists of originals by the two principals and they each contribute four compositions. The material is interesting and a good and varied mix of energy and introspection; given the talents involved, it comes as no surprise that they are beautifully played. It may have been my mood of the moment, but I particularly enjoyed Dickinson’s Delaware Daze and Sam’s Song, while Soul Mission and Tribute by Bergonzi stood the test of multiple plays. Just as an aside, and I don’t know if there was an influence in his formative years, but Brian’s playing on the first chorus of Pardon Me had, for me, a Horace Silverish feel to it. The playing throughout is of a high caliber – there are no passengers on board – and the recording quality is excellent. All in all, a very satisfying CD of contemporary acoustic music.
Reviewed by Jim Galloway – WHOLE NOTE MAGAZINE – September 2003
When Boston tenorman Jerry Bergonzi comes to town, he always links up with one of the city’s leading pianists in Dickinson, and a week’s Senator gig was the warmup for this recording. Bassist Jim Vivian and drummer Ted Warren are also on hand for the eight long tracks, four each by the talented leader and his American guest. Everyone gets more than the Andy Warhol allotment in the spotlight and overall the music is calm, with Bergonzi forsaking his cut-and-thrust careening through ideas from the John Coltrane production line. He mostly plays serenely and inventively, as on the title tune which also is a classic example of Dickinson’s logical, focussed approach. All hustle on cuts like “Pardon Me” and “Splurge,” Warren is in particular hearty shape and Bergonzi is as fluent as ever but gets spooky on “Tribute.” The best track, “Crazy Matters,” lets this seasoned grouping scoot through some labrynthine passages with verve.
Reviewed by Geoff Chapman
Thursday, July 3, 2003
The Toronto Star
Chemistry is the key to performance by a duo – particularly if the instruments are flugelhorn and piano.
If you walked in on a gig by horn man Kenny Wheeler and pianist Brian Dickinson, you might think, “Damn, the bass player didn’t show up.” If you listen to any track on their new collaboration, Still Waters, you will not voice such concerns. The musical experience is complete; no element is missing. Wheeler’s ideas and timbre are outstanding, and they receive instinctive support from Dickinson’s keyboard.
Each track is carefully sculptured: four originals by Dickinson; five by Wheeler. Each tune seems more beautiful than the other one does: gorgeous, expansive melodies with unexpected intervals; equally surprising harmonic patterns. To choose a favorite would be an exercise in futility. Not until the out chorus of the final cut, “Gentle Piece,” is there a slight deviation from the format. Wheeler is suddenly “beside himself” with some meaningful, as opposed to flashy, overdubbing. Dickinson vamps on intros, setting the mood and pulse. But these guys are so fluid with time, who needed that bassist anyway?
You’d never know that there is a generation gap between these two Canadians. Their writing, phrasing, and gap filling are so mutual in concept and execution, they seem to be joined at the hip. You know how “hip” here is meant, eh?
Harvey Siders, JazzTimes
The art on the cover immediately brings to mind Monet, and the serene music inside fulfills the impression. Dickinson on piano creates beautiful pools of sound, and Wheeler on trumpet graces the moving surfaces with light and colour. Some of the titles refer directly to nature: “Still Waters,” “Winter Suite,” “Spring Sprung In,” and “Springs Eternal.” Others evoke a warm humanism: “Kind Folk,” “Remembrance for MP,” “Gentle Piece.” The pervading mood is very calm, yet the music is always fresh and flowing. This is a gorgeous, happy, vibrant record by master musicians.
Brian Rutz, Planet Jazz
With fellow Canadian Dickinson attentive at the piano, Wheeler’s distinctive flugelhorn sounds still more eloquent. The music on Still Waters is graceful and beautifully balanced, technically accomplished and pervaded by controlled emotion.
Julian Cowley, The Wire
