Eric Dixon

Eric " Big Daddy" Dixon ( born March 28, 1930 in Staten Iceland (New York), † October 19, 1989 in New York City ) was an American jazz musician (tenor saxophone, flute, composition and arrangement ).

Life and work

Eric Dixon played in his childhood Horn and joined with twelve years for tenor saxophone. His debut as a professional musician, he had studied under Peter Luisetti 1950; 1951-1953 he played during his military service in Army bands. After his discharge from the army he worked as a freelance musician, including with Cootie Williams in 1954, Johnny Hodges in 1955 and Bennie Green ( Walkin 'Down, 1956). From the mid- 1950s, he can also be heard on the flute as a secondary instrument; During this time he played in a quartet of Bill English and in the house band at the Apollo Theater and was in the band of drummer Curly Hamner 1959 European tour.

From 1960 he played in the orchestra by Quincy Jones in 1961, and took part in his European tour. From the beginning of 1962 Dixon was soloist on both instruments in the Count Basie Orchestra; He wrote and arranged some songs for the band. In 1972 he left Basie to start with his wife The Meeting Place, a restaurant in Staten Iceland, but returned in 1975 to Basie and played back even after the death of the band leader in the ghost band. Throughout his career, he worked at about 200 shots with and also worked with Paul Gonsalves, Ahmed Abdul -Malik, Mal Waldron ( time - 3: Sounds, 1958 ), Oliver Nelson, Jack McDuff, Joe Williams, Frank Foster and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. Dixon is a composer of the title " Bug Out " and " Pootin 'It".

Swell

• Richard Cook & Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. London, Penguin, 2006 ISBN 0-141-02327-9 (8th Edition)