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Larry Dickson
Larry Dickson Jazz Quartet: Winter Horizons
by Jack Bowers
Winter Horizons is the last of Cincinnati-based baritone saxophonist Larry Dickson's four-part salute to the seasons which began in 2015 with Second Springtime and includes Summergold Promises and Donora Autumn. As before, Dickson leads a quartet whose charter members are bassist Michael Sharfe and drummer Jim Leslie. Alto saxophonist Rick Van Matre, Dickson's band mate in Cincy's renowned Blue Wisp Big Band, shares the front line this time, succeeding tenor Brent Gallaher (Springtime), trombonist Bill Gemmer (Summergold) and trumpeter Hank ...
read moreLarry Dickson Jazz Quartet: Donora Autumn
by Jack Bowers
Baritone sax, trumpet, bass and drums: a lineup that may seem more than passably familiar to fans of small-group jazz in general and West Coast jazz in particular. The first of many piano-less quartets--and the one that remains the gold standard-- was the Gerry Mulligan / Chet Baker Quartet, formed in the early '50s with Bob Whitlock on bass and Chico Hamilton on drums. While Cincinnati-based baritone Larry Dickson's roster is the same, there is no attempt on Donora Autumn ...
read moreLarry Dickson Jazz Quartet: Summergold Promises
by Jack Bowers
Cincinnati-based baritone saxophonist Larry Dickson's new album, Summergold Promises, is almost a companion piece to his previous enterprise, Second Springtime, which was appraised favorably here less than a year ago. The word “almost" is necessary because Dickson's front-line partner on Springtime, tenor saxophonist Brent Gallaher, has been replaced by trombonist Bill Gemmer, lending the quartet a moderately dissimilar but no less pleasing sound. The rhythm section remains intact, with bassist Michael Sharfe and drummer Jim Leslie tending to business without ...
read moreLarry Dickson Jazz Quartet: Second Springtime
by Jack Bowers
On Second Springtime, baritone saxophonist Larry Dickson, a mainstay for more than three decades with Cincinnati's renowned Blue Wisp Big Band, leads a quartet sans piano, much like Gerry Mulligan's groundbreaking ensemble from the early '50s. Unlike Mulligan's storied quartet, however, Dickson shares the front line not with a trumpeter (Chet Baker) but a tenor saxophonist (Brent Gallaher). How does that work? Quite well, actually, thanks for the most part to the singular talents of Dickson, Gallaher, bassist Michael Sharfe ...
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Larry Dickson
