Walt Weiskopf Harmless Addiction

New York's first-call bass-drum pair Peter Washington and Billy Drummond find the right tempo and dynamic pulse for every tune. Check the simmering medium groove Drummond hits on "Outsider", how he propells the band through the shifting meters of the unflaggingly burning "Barebones"; hear Washington's sublime time and intonation throughout, his interplay with Bostrom's flute on "End Of The Year So Soon", how he effortlessly navigates the rhythmic permutations of "Three Armed Man".
"No nonsense" is a good way to describe the uncommon blend of pragmatism, craft and creative inspiration with which Walt Weiskopf has approached each stage of his musical career. Song For My Mother shows that he's transcended his influences; chances are he'll influence a few future jazz musicians himself.

Vibraphonist, Walt Dickerson crashed onto the jazz scene in the early 1960’s and by 1962 had won the Down Beat Critic’s Poll for Best Newcomer. By then he had recorded the four albums featured on our double CD. He would go on to make more classic albums in the mid-sixties before apparently leaving the jazz scene for a decade, returning again in 1975. Although considered a musician of the post-bop era, Walt Dickerson was one of the few vibraphonists playing in the emerging early free jazz scene. In fact if he hadn’t taken the time off he would probably be up there with the likes of the great Bobby Hutcherson who was considered the finest vibes player of his generation. Musicians joining Walt on our four selections include the great Andrew Hill on piano, Andrew Cyrille, Austin Crowe, George Tucker and Ahmed Abdul Malik.

Jane's Addiction were one of the most hotly pursued rock bands when they gained notice in Los Angeles in the mid-'80s, with record companies at their feet. Flamboyant frontman Perry Farrell, formerly of the band Psi Com, had an undeniable charisma and an interest in provocative art (he designed the band's album covers), and Jane's Addiction played a hybrid of rock music: metal with strains of punk, folk, and jazz. The quartet, comprised of Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins, and guitarist Dave Navarro, had already released its debut album as well, in the form of a live recording from the Roxy in Hollywood. Finally, Warner Bros. won the bidding war and released Nothing's Shocking in 1988. The band's abrasive sound and aggressive attitude (typified by the nude sculpture on the cover) led to some resistance, but Jane's Addiction began to break through to an audience – the album spent 35 weeks on the charts.

One of the most innovative exponents of the art of playing the vibraphone, Philadelphian Walt Dickerson made his recording debut in 1961 and made a dozen or so LP's for various labels in the 60's, culminating in a date for MGM in 1965 (A Patch of Blue) featuring Sun Ra on piano. After that he did not venture into the studio again until some ten years later when Masahiko Yuh recorded Tell Us The Beautiful Things - the first of two for his Why Not label. This, the elusive second recording of Walt Dickerson has never been available before outside Japan. It features Wilbur Ware on bass and Edgar Bateman's drums along with Jamaaladeen Tacuma on electric bass on one track and shows Dickerson at his very best.