For decades,
the Modern Jazz Quartet
's
Milt Jackson
was
jazz
's leading player of the vibraphone. Both in
and on his own solo albums,
Jackson
redefined the role of vibes in
, turning them from a percussion instrument into a lead more than capable of holding its own in any format. Not even Bags, though, would have recorded an album like
Walt Dickerson
Serendipity
. Recorded live in
Dickerson
's hometown of Philadelphia in 1976,
was the vibraphonist's second album as leader after an extended layoff, and it's remarkable in its spareness. This is a trio date, but drummer
Edgar Bateman
and future superstar bassist
Jamaaladeen Tacuma
(barely 20, but already a veteran of
Ornette Coleman & Prime Time
) stand way back and give
room to breathe. (Unusually for
Tacuma
, who has turned over-playing into an art form; even his extended solo at the opening of the 15-minute
"Magnificent Glimpse"
is a model of economy and restraint.) From the solo opener
"My Prayer"
onwards, this is entirely
's show; he remains in control of the
improvisations
, even on the jaggedly free passages that erupt on even the most conventionally melodic of these tunes. He subtly steers things back to a tonal and melodic center as the lengthy tracks (all but one well over ten minutes) come to a logical and shapely close. Those expecting a nice melodic vibes album a la
Lionel Hampton
will probably freak, but
is a stunner for fans of
's more out-there sets. ~ Stewart Mason