Trumpeter Bill Dixon has died at age 84. I’m extremely grateful to have seen him several times in New York in recent years. And to have written about his final* release, Tapestries for Small Orchestra. (*My colleague Hank Shteamer notes that Dixon’s final release is the double LP Weight/Counterweight. Apologies.)

One performance I heard was with a quartet at the Baha’i Center. In between numbers, Dixon shared memories of hearing Dizzy Gillespie’s big band play “Things to Come” in the ’40s. He spoke of it as a life-changing event, a view of music rearranged into “a fantastic new order.” Dixon was anything but a bebopper, but he knew bebop was not “conservative” (see yesterday’s post).

Dixon also said things I can’t even paraphrase about his long career, and remarked, “You know, as they say, every dog has his day. Well, I’ve been a very good dog. And I’m going to have two days.”

God bless him and look after him.

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