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Vance Provey, Whit Dicky, and Spin Dunbar Release New CD on NHIC Records

Forty years ago, the trio of of trumpeter Vance Provey, drummer Whit Dickey and Bassist Spin Dunbar spent the better part of a year working on Mr. Provey's new musical concepts. Then they went into the studio and made this sublime record. It sat on a shelf waiting, until now.

Vance Provey was working on his music at Bennington College at the invitation of Bill Dixon, first as an artist in residence and then as a teaching assistant. He was doing deep work trying to get across the music that he wanted to hear. Whit was a student in the program who was coming into his own voice and they began doing a series of duets. Vance pushed Whit hard, Whit pushed back just as hard and they moved the music forward. Vance had heard Spin Dunbar play and thought him a "damn good bass player" who could add the final piece. He asked him to join them and the trio worked and worked, playing constantly until it all came into place and they knew they had something.

This record is the result of all that work.

Download codes and physical CD's for review are available on request.

Artist: VANCE PROVEY, WHIT DICKEY, SPIN DUNBAR
Title: 1983 - Motifs 2023
Release Date: February 14, 2023
Label: NHIC Records music.nhic-records.com
Catalog Number: NHIC-017
UPC Code: 195269223953
Musicians: Vance Provey - Trumpet, Whit Dickey - Drums, Spin Dunbar - Bass

Track listing
1. Motif 1 (8:30)
2. Motif 2 (4:58)
3. Motif 3 (6:14)
4. Motif 4 (5:13)
5. Motif 5 (5:50)

Total Time: 30:47
All tracks Vance Provey

Mr. Provey's work with Bill Dixon is a guiding influence, but he draws from an aesthetic that is very personal. His use of long extended tones pitted against very short clusters of notes in a variety of contexts and styles is already well developed here. Whit Dickey, who came to prominence in the 1990s with David S. Ware and has several outstanding records as leader, shows a deft touch contrasting subtle cymbal work with a rumbling lower register. He and creative bass player Spin Dunbar make the music breathe with an elastic pulse and help bring us into this new world of tone.

The music on this record runs from moody to fiery. Motif 1 opens with an extended arco bass tone joined in by trumpet and then drums. It makes a brooding dark statement of purpose. The trio explores varied emotional terrain throughout the rest of the album and the musicians deftly highlight each other and move from stark contrasts to creating a single voice. The final piece, Motif 5, opens with a melodic trumpet solo, both melancholy and full of hope inspiring the rest of the trio to reflect on the music played and the music to come. The recording is as vital today as it was when it was made 40 years ago and we are privileged to have it with us.



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