A Sense of Direction

A Sense of Direction
Studio album by
Walt Dickerson
Released1961
RecordedMay 5, 1961
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
GenreJazz
Length40:54
LabelNew Jazz
NJLP 8268
ProducerEsmond Edwards
Walt Dickerson chronology
This Is Walt Dickerson!
(1961) 		A Sense of Direction
(1961) 		Relativity
(1962)

A Sense of Direction is an album led by vibraphonist and composer Walt Dickerson recorded in 1961 and released on the New Jazz label.[1][2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Down Beat[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings [5]

AllMusic reviewer Steve Huey stated: "If it's a shade less challenging and inventive than This Is Walt Dickerson!, A Sense of Direction compensates by making Dickerson's innovations more accessible and inviting".[3] DownBeat reviewer Pete Welding wrote: "if it is only slightly less adventurous than his initial recording, it is still an ardent collection -- primarily of ballads -- treated with unflagging invention and restrain ...Were it not for the slight conventionality of some of the numbers, the rating would have been five stars."[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Walt Dickerson except as indicated

  1. "Sense of Direction" - 6:00
  2. "Ode to Boy" - 5:30
  3. "Togetherness" - 3:00
  4. "What's New?" (Johnny Burke, Bob Haggart) - 4:44
  5. "Good Earth" - 3:33
  6. "Why" - 4:48
  7. "You Go to My Head" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) - 8:19
  8. "If I Should Lose You" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin) - 5:00

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Prestige Records New Jazz catalogue discography accessed March 27, 2015
  2. ^ Fitzgerald, M., Walt Dickerson discography accessed March 27, 2015
  3. ^ a b Huey, S., Allmusic Review, accessed March 27, 2015
  4. ^ Down Beat: Vol. 29, No. 23, September 28, 1961
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ Weilding, P., Walt Dickerson Reviews Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 27, 2015