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Drummer Whit Dickey is a well-known figure on the New York free jazz scene; he came to prominence as a member of the Matthew Shipp Trio and the David S. Ware Quartet in the 1990s, but has made multiple albums as a leader and collaborated with a lot of other musicians, including Joe Morris, Ivo Perelman, and Mat Maneri. His latest releases are a double CD, Tao Quartets, on AUM Fidelity — each CD features a different band — and a duo CD with cornet player Kirk Knuffke, Drone Dream, on NoBusiness.

In this interview, we talk about the evolution of his style, the musicians he studied with — including Bill Dixon, Milford Graves, and Andrew Cyrille — and his various bands and projects. We also talk about aspects of his personal life that some listeners and fans may not know about. It's one of the longest episodes I've done, but it's really interesting, and I hope you'll enjoy listening to it.

This episode is sponsored by nugs.net - visit nugs.net/burningambulance to get 35% off a year's subscription.

Music heard in this episode:

Whit Dickey, "Suite for DSW" (Tao Quartets)

Whit Dickey/Kirk Knuffke, "Soaring" (Drone Dream)

Whit Dickey, "Ethereality" (Tao Quartets)