****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Brian Dickinson with the Penderecki String Quartet: October Songs
by George W. Harris • May 28, 2026
Most of the times, jazz with string combos can turn into a traffic jam. Here, however, pianist and composer Brian Dickenson walks the tightrope like a member of Barnam and Bailey, as his jazz team of Kelly Jefferson/ts-ss and Jim Vivian/bass coalesce perfectly with the string quartet of Jerzy Kaplanek-Jeremy Bell/v, Christine Vlajik/va and Katie Schlaikjer/cel.
Dickinson makes the strings know when to hold ‘em and fold ‘em, letting them open things up with a gorgeous mood setting on “Autumn Glow” before he comes in with Bill Evans elegance and Jefferson’s tenor sighs richly. The strings give a pizzicato’d dance to Jefferson’s soprano on the modern sounding “Spring Sprung In” with Vivian returning the favor as tenor sax and piano glisten on the impressionistic “Touch Her Soft Lips and Part”. There’s a three part “October Songs” which has Dickinson in the spotlight for a glistening “Part 1”, the strings in a Mozartian mood for “Part 2” and Jefferson lyrically rich in “Part 3”. If this band tours, I’ll be there! Classic and classy.
