John Dikeman (2.3.83 Rushville, NE USA) is an American saxophonist who currently resides in Amsterdam. John draws inspiration from many sources. His playing includes improvised music and techniques. Cactus Truck is his current band. It includes Jasper Stadhouders as guitarist/bass guitar and Onno Governort as drummer; Universal Indians featuring Tollef Ostvang, Jon Rune Strom, and Hamid Drake; and the trio Dikeman Parker, Parker, Drake and William Parker. There are many other collaborations such projects with Andrew Barker and Dirk Serries. John is one the newest members Spinifex, which is a unique ensemble that combines complex rhythms with advanced compositional techniques. Dikeman collaborates with Jameszoo regularly. John is a regular performer in Amsterdam’s music scene. This has expanded to include many new bands that play compositions that have a special connection to different traditions and offer something danceable like the Zebra Street Band brass band and the cumbia project Bacchanalia. Dikeman has been a soloist in a variety of groups, including Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the Metropole Orkest, Mohamed Mounir, and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. John was born in Wyoming, and began performing professionally when he was 16. Dikeman moved to Wyoming in 1999 to study composition and saxophone at the Interlochen Arts Academy. John attended Bennington College, Vermont, to continue his studies with Milford Graves. He also studied privately with Joe Maneri. John then moved to Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia after Bennington. John performed with many top musicians from the USA while on the east coast, including Nate Wooley and Mike Pride, Daniel Carter, Tatsuya Nagani, Tatsuya Nakatani, Tatsuya Nakatani, Tatsuya Nakatani, Tatsuya Nakaani, and others. In 2004, Dikeman moved to Cairo in Egypt, where he was a full-time professional musician, educator, and leader of numerous ensembles, as well as freelance in a variety of settings. John then moved to Budapest, Hungary, Paris, France, and finally settled in Amsterdam, in 2008. John has been active in the Dutch improvised scene since moving to Amsterdam. He is both a performer as well as a curator. John was chosen for the Young VIP Tour 2012, which featured Cactus Truck and other guests touring the Netherlands. John was invited by Stichting Doek to be a core artist member in 2012. Cactus Truck performed 37 concerts across the USA in the fall 2012. Their performance at Zebulon, New York City earned them a spot on Andrey Henkin’s list of the New York City Jazz Record’s Top Concerts of 2012. John was able to invite William Parker, Hamid Drake and Hamid to perform at Doek Festival #12. Since he was a teenager, he had been deeply inspired by the music and rhythms of free jazz’s top section. They quickly became a regular trio that toured Europe and recorded two albums to high critical acclaim.
