Whit Dickey, a free jazz drummer, first made waves in 1998 when he released his Transonic album by Aum Fidelity. Wobbly Rail released his Big Top album two years later. He was previously best known for his solid work alongside Matthew Shipp, David S. Ware and Dickey, who split in 1996. The Transonic songs were composed by the drummer in the early part of the next year. Dickey composed all of the songs on Transonic, except for “Kinesis” (which he also wrote), and even helped with those songs with the assistance of fellow musicians. The original compositions pay tribute to “Criss cross” and “Off Minor”, both songs by Thelonious Monk. Dickey recorded the album using Rob Brown’s flute and alto-saxophone and Chris Lightcap’s bass. Dickey, Mat Maneri and Shipp recorded half a dozen compositions in 2001 under the Nommonsemble name and released Life Cycle through Aum Fidelity. Allmusic
