Whit Dickey & Tao Quartets - Peace Planet & Box of Light (2019)

This is a united & mighty pair of brand new studio albums from drummer-bandleader Whit Dickey which were created together with two distinct yet interrelated Quartets. The two works represent the Yin and the Yang respectively, the inseparable and complementary opposites, following an ancient and enduring understanding of the world. Dickey chose Tao Quartets as the name for these groups / this specific work as the Tao wholly incorporates an understanding of this eternal dynamic, and it is here to be heard.

As he states in the liner notes, “these albums together are two parts of a whole; it depends on which part of the total vibration the listener wants to tune into. One features a slightly behind-the-beat Yin thing, and the other a bit ahead-of-the-beat Yang approach. It’s really a question of trying the find the center. My playing doesn't represent the center in either one; rather, the slight differences between the two in approaching it.”

All involved here have long been deep seekers of truth through sound, and between them is a luminous web of deeply affecting work, which now spans decades. This pair presents their very latest work together.

Representing the Yin is Peace Planet: a fluid, supple and dynamic flow of instantly composed wonder; each of the pieces presents as a mini-suite, with astonishing cohesiveness. Gentle lyricism and rhythmic/melodic invention abound. Also of note here is “Suite for DSW” – a paean to Dickey/Shipp/Parker's former bandleader, David S. Ware, whose profound and enduring inspiration is deeply felt by all.

Box of Light brings the Yang herein, with fiery energy and crackling interplay to the fore. The inspiration of Dickey’s early studies with Milford Graves are clear here, as is the precedent set by such as the New York Art Quartet (feat. Graves/ Tchicai / Rudd). It is likewise clear that the idea of total sensitivity, to each and from each musician toward the evolution of the music, is also to the fore.

After an extended period of realignment with his central creative essence, it was AUM's great pleasure to present the re-emergence of Whit Dickey as a leader in 2017 with the exquisitely rendered Vessel in Orbit, a trio work featuring Shipp and violist Mat Maneri. Very thankfully – as can be heard on these brand new recordings (and those that are to come) – that album was just the beginning of his creative re-birth. Enjoy!