Thoughts

The 1980s was Bill Dixon’s most productive decade by far; he made nine albums for the Italian Soul Note label, with a variety of ensembles. Thoughts, recorded in 1985 and released in 1987, is arranged for three horns (trumpet, tuba, alto saxophone), three bassists, and drums. The bassists in question — Peter Kowald, William Parker, and Mario Pavone — rumble and throb together, creating a feeling like the leader’s trumpet is bobbing in the ocean as Lawrence Cook’s cymbals crash like waves on a distant shore.