Neville Dickie Tickles The Ivory During Jazz SummerFest

Posted by Maria Miaoulis in Bickford Theatre, Morristown, NJ, Jazz Events, Recaps & Reviews

August 3rd, 2010   2 Comments »

neville-dickie-pianist

Cover of stride pianist Neville Dickie's 1970 album, "A Salute To Fats Waller." PHOTO CREDIT: Google Images

When my generation thinks of a “piano man,” Billy Joel or Elton John quickly comes to mind. It’s a shame that world renowned jazz pianist Neville Dickie doesn’t register on this popularity radar. But after last night’s performance at The Bickford Theatre, I, along with those in attendance, will consider him one of the greats from now on.

Dickie is known for his “stride” piano playing, a demanding style where the left hand alternates quickly between single notes and chords, producing a strong, rhythmic bass, while the right hand defines the melody. (Oh, and it’s usually performed at quite a fast tempo, as if it weren’t challenging enough.) But Dickie remained nonchalant about the whole thing, explaining the technique while exchanging jokes with the audience.

A camera had been set up to hover above the keyboard, allowing us to see him play up close. It was easy to become mesmerized by his hand movements. In fact, most of the evening I found myself paying more attention to the monitor than taking in the whole scene, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one!

Dickie performed several well-known pieces including “Getting To Know You,” “That’s All” and “Common Boogie” along with new material from his latest album. However, it was favorites like “Harlem Strut,” “Ball And The Jack,” “The Russian Rag,” and “Stardust” which had the crowd roaring with applause before his set regretfully came to a close.

This native Englishman more than proved why he is known as the world’s foremost stride and boogie woogie musician. He performs on both sides of the pond these days, so if you happen to be in the area when he’s doing a show, make it a point to go. You won’t be disappointed! Check out his website for more details.

  • http://www.pianolessonsnj.com Infinity

    Is this the huy “Uncle Floyd” copied from? Who’s the better pianist?

  • http://www.JazzvilleNJ.com D.A. Gutierrez

    Hey Infinity,
    I had to do some research because I wasn’t familiar with Uncle Floyd before you mentioned him.
    I guess it’s possible that Uncle Floyd copied from Neville. That album cover shown above is from the 1970′s, so Neville no longer looks or dresses like that (at least not at the show we went to) ——————————————————-
    That said, having seen Neville play live and comparing it to this video:
    http://www.unclefloyd.net/Uncle-Floyd-piano.htm
    I have to say without a doubt that Neville is the better pianist. I hate to trash someone, but either Uncle Floyd picked some bad footage to post on his site or he’s a terrible pianist. It’s almost like his left hand is just hopping back and forth without regard for what notes he’s hitting. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . On another note, here’s an interesting bit of trivia –> Turns out Uncle Floyd’s real name is Floyd Vivino – does that last name sound familiar? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If not, it should – that’s the same last name as Jerry and Jimmy Vivino from Conan O’Brien’s band. Check it out on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Vivino#Other_works