RIP Bill Dixon

I wrote up a brief obituary for the Volume. I'm happy at least that Dixon's last years were extremely productive ones. I'll just say here that this man's music has given me enormous pleasure over the years. It was aural quicksand, the kind of thing you wanted to sink into. For pure sound worship, the revelation of texture, Dixon's best can't really be beat. As far as the records go, Vade Mecum--an early-'90s communion with three other audio painters, including the great Tony Oxley--is probably my favorite. Another indispensable Dixon document is Imagine the Sound.

When I interviewed Dixon in 2007, I began an Invisible Jukebox-style activity with him, where I played him a selection of un-ID'd records. The exercise quickly got sidetracked but I'll never forget listening to Booker Little's "Man of Words" with him. When the track--perhaps the most weighty ballad in the jazz literature--finished, Dixon simply said, "Play that again." I did, and when it was over, I asked him if he could identify the artist. "I'm not sure," he said. "But whoever that was has spent a lot of time studying the music of Booker Little."

RIP Rashied Ali

What an absolutely outstanding musician.

And he sounded as good in recent years as he did on all those classic records. I feel fortunate that I was able to catch him live several times (but still, it wasn't enough). I'll never forget when I interviewed him in 2003 at his studio in Soho. He spoke of trying to "turn time into nothing." When I asked him what he meant, he proceeded to sit down at his kit and demonstrate. "Okay, here's time," he said, easing into one of his patented subtly roiling drumscapes. "And now I'm going to turn time into nothing." To be perfectly honest, I perceived no change in what he was playing, but either way it was completely magical to hear him in such an intimate setting. Here, via All About Jazz, is the complete transcript of said interview, which contains a wealth of great info on Interstellar Space and Ali's career as a whole. Check The Volume for a modest obituary and some nice links.

This sad news begs the question: Does anyone know the whereabouts of Rashied's younger brother Muhammad? I absolutely love his vintage work with Frank Wright and several others, but I have heard very little news of his recent activities. Some enticing tidbits here.

UPDATE: A Blog Supreme reports (as do several other sources) that Muhammad actually subbed for Rashied at the Newport Jazz Festival this past weekend. Anyone attend? I'm dying to know how he sounded. Thanks to RVAJazz and Steve Smith for the heads-ups.