Walt Dickerson made an impact when he first emerged in the early '60s -- he won the Down Beat Critic's Poll as New Star in 1962 -- but as the years passed he became much less visible.
Dickerson graduated from Morgan State College in 1953. After serving in the Army from 1953-1955, he settled in California, where he led a band that included
Andrew Cyrille and
Andrew Hill. In his early-'60s heyday,
Dickerson played the clubs on the New York scene. He worked with
Sun Ra, recording
Impressions of a Patch of Blue in 1965. Shortly thereafter,
Dickerson retired from performing for nearly a decade and returning in 1975. In the years 1977-1978, he made the bulk of his recordings for the Steeplechase label, which included duos with
Sun Ra, guitarist
Pierre Dørge, and bassist
Richard Davis. Also in 1978,
Dickerson recorded in a quartet with pianist
Albert Dailey.
Dickerson was one of the few vibists to exhibit an awareness of free jazz techniques, though he was manifestly conversant in the language of post-bop. Although not heard as a leader on disc after 1982,
Dickerson subsequently performed around his native Philadelphia; he died in Willow Grove, PA, of cardiac arrest in May 2008. ~ Chris Kelsey