Dikeman ( John )

John Dikeman John Dikeman was born in Nebraska and grew up in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Thanks to the extreme isolation of his hometown, he spent most of his free time practicing and studying music. He quickly discovered the music of John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, John Zorn, and Albert Ayler and instantly connected to the unmatched expressive power of free jazz. Dikeman started performing professionally at the age of 16 after meeting New Mexican guitarist Stefan Dill who became a mentor for John. Stefan also introduced Dikeman to Jack Wright who was living in Boulder, Colorado at the time. Jack would prove to be one of John’s biggest influences and a long time collaborator.

Dikeman left Wyoming in 1999 to study saxophone and composition at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Later, Dikeman would study with free jazz legends Joe Maneri and Milford Graves, who was one of his primary instructors during his brief stay at Bennington College. Dikeman then moved to New York City, and later Philadelphia. He performed regularly within the free jazz and free improvisation circles throughout the east coast. Some of his collaborators include: Toshi Makihara, Sam Shalabi, Jack Wright, Stefan Dill, Jon Barrios, Jonathan Vincent, Zack Fuller, Ava Mendoza, Raed Yassin, Daniel Carter, Jonathan Fretheim, Mike Barker, Darren Pickering, Kevin McHugh, Lukas Ligeti, Jeff Arnal, Chris Forsyth, Tatsuya Nakatani, Mike Pride, Nate Wooley, Reuben Radding, Blaise Siwula, George Cremaschi, Kurt Heyl, Damon Smith, Ben Hall, John Voigt, John McLellan, Scott Verrastro, Jean Derome, Gordon Allen, Nicolas Caloia, Isaiah Ceccarelli, Sharks Without Fins, Bryan Eubanks, Masashi Harada, Katt Hernandez, Jonathan Leland, Keefe Jackson, Cristina Menendez, Andy Hershberger, Daniel Barnidge, Markus Eichenberger…

After three years in Cairo, Egypt and a brief stay in Budapest, Hungary, John moved to Amsterdam in December of 2007. Since arriving in Amsterdam, John has jumped at the chance to re-enter the world of improvised music. He is a member of The Royal Improvisers Orchestra and has performed with Michael Vatcher, Wilbert De Joode, Yedo Gibson, Renato Ferreira, Raoul van der Weide, Eric Boeren, Viljam Nybacka, Wim Jenssen, Oscar Jan Hoogland, Ivo Bol, Alfredo Genovesi, Meinrad Kneer, Gerri Jager, Stevko Busch, and numerous other musicians from the Dutch improv scene. John has also performed with several foreign musicians while they were visiting Amsterdam, most notably Joe McPhee, Jeb Bishop, Frank Rosaly and the Finish trio Black Motor.

Read more on John Dikeman’s website.

John Dikeman | Jasper Stadhouders | Onno Govaert | Cactus Truck | Seizures Palace | Not Two Records

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Based in Amsterdam this fire-breathing improvisational trio is comprised of bassist/guitarist Jasper Stadhouders, drummer Onno Govaert, and American-born saxophonist John Dikeman. The band plays a take-no-prisoners, high-energy brand of free jazz strongly influenced by the likes of Albert Ayler and Peter Brötzmann at their most intense (they also claim that their music includes elements of Delta blues, Japanese noise, and no wave). Cactus Truck self-released an eponymous CD-R in 2011 and followed that up with a 2012 cassette release (featuring Terrie Ex from the Ex) entitled Macho Sex; their first “official” album, Brand New for China!, arrived in March of 2012 on the Public Eyesore label. In late October through mid-December of that year, Cactus Truck stormed the United States with a massive 37-date tour that saw the trio tearing it up across the country, up the East Coast from Atlanta to Boston, across the Midwest and West, down the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles, and finally wending their way back east for three final dates in New York City. Selections from the tour (recorded at Squidco Records in Wilmington, Delaware with guest trombonist Jeb Bishop; Astro Black Records in Louisville, Kentucky; and the final show at JACK in N.Y.C. with guest trumpeter Roy Campbell) were featured on the Live in USA album, released in March 2013 by the band’s Tractata Records imprint in collaboration with the eh? label. — Dave Lynch, AllMusic Continue reading →

John Dikeman | Klaus Kugel | Raoul van der Weide | Across the Sky | Not Two Records

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This band, like the best in the tradition, has linked time-past with time-present, invoking both shared musical history and individual agency as a totality (not a spectrum) that is as irreducible as timbre: timbre-upon-timbre combining into a meta-timbre that is evocative of the band itself, individual components giving way to the band as a corporate individual. (A corporation actually deserving of personhood.)The band—as the missile—moves screaming through the space it inhabits while triggering memory, history and time…however— unlike the missile—it does not end in a fiery crash or dull misfire, but continues on. — Jeff Kaiser, 13 December 2011 Continue reading →