Eric Allan Dolphy was an American
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
alto saxophonistThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, flutist, and
bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
ist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s. He was also the first important bass clarinet soloist in jazz, and among the earliest significant flute soloists. His improvisational style was characterized by the use of wide
intervalsIn music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
, in addition to using an array of
extended techniqueExtended techniques are performance techniques used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments to obtain unusual sounds or instrumental timbres....
s to reproduce human- and animal-like effects which almost literally made his instruments speak. Although Dolphy's work is sometimes classified as
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, his compositions and solos were often rooted in conventional (if highly abstracted) tonal
bebopBebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
harmony and melodic lines that suggest the influences of modern classical composers
Béla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
and
Igor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
.
http://adale.org/Discographies/Dolphy4PuntaGiara.pdf
Early life
Dolphy was born in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was educated at
Los Angeles City CollegeLos Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
. He performed locally for several years, most notably as a member of
bebopBebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
big bands led by
Gerald WilsonGerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, 8 time Grammy nominee, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s....
and Roy Porter. On early recordings, he occasionally played
soprano clarinetThe soprano clarinets are a sub-family of the clarinet family.The B clarinet is by far the most common type of soprano clarinet - the unmodified word "clarinet" usually refers to this instrument...
and
baritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, as well as his main instrument, the alto saxophone. Dolphy finally had his big break as a member of
Chico Hamilton'sChico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
quintet. With the group he became known to a wider audience and was able to tour extensively through 1959, when he parted ways with Hamilton and moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early partnerships
John ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
had gained an audience and critical notice with
Miles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
's quintet. Although Coltrane's quintets with Dolphy (including the
Village VanguardThe Village Vanguard is a jazz club located at in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. At first, it also featured other forms of music such as folk music and beat poetry, but it switched to an all-jazz format in 1957.-History:Over 100 jazz...
and Africa/Brass sessions) are now legendary, they provoked
Down BeatDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine to brand Coltrane and Dolphy's music as 'anti-jazz'. Coltrane later said of this criticism: "they made it appear that we didn't even know the first thing about music (...) it hurt me to see [Dolphy] get hurt in this thing."
The initial release of Coltrane's stay at the Vanguard selected three tracks, only one of which featured Dolphy. After being issued haphazardly over the next 30 years, a comprehensive box set featuring all of the recorded music from the Vanguard was released by
Impulse!Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
in 1997.
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings-Personnel:* John Coltrane — soprano and tenor saxophone* Eric Dolphy — bass clarinet, alto saxophone* Garvin Bushell — oboe, contrabassoon* Ahmed Abdul-Malik — probably tampura * McCoy Tyner — piano...
carried over 15 tracks featuring Dolphy on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, adding a new dimension to these already classic recordings. A later
PabloPablo Records was a record label founded by Norman Granz in 1972, some ten years after he had sold his jazz labels to MGM Records....
box set from Coltrane's European tours of the early 1960s collected more recordings with Dolphy for the buying public.
During this period, Dolphy also played in a number of challenging settings, notably in key recordings by
Ornette ColemanOrnette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
(
Free Jazz: A Collective ImprovisationFree Jazz: A Collective Improvisation is the sixth album by jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, recorded in 1960. Its title established the name of the then-nascent free jazz movement...
), arranger
Oliver NelsonOliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
(
The Blues and the Abstract TruthThe Blues and the Abstract Truth is a jazz album by Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961. It remains Nelson's most acclaimed album. It features a lineup of notable musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy , Bill Evans , Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes...
and
Straight AheadStraight Ahead is a jazz studio album by saxophonist Oliver Nelson. It features famous musicians such as Eric Dolphy on sax, clarinet and flute and Roy Haynes on drums. It was recorded in March 1961 at the celebrated Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs...
) and George Russell (
Ezz-theticsEzz-thetics is an album by a sextet led by the jazz composer and music theorist George Russell. It features a re-reading of Russell's title composition and a radical reworking of Thelonious Monk's standard "Round Midnight" with an extended solo by Eric Dolphy. The title song, "Ezzthetic", was...
), but also with
Gunther SchullerGunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
,
Max RoachMaxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
and
Abbey LincolnAnna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many...
, multi-instrumentalist
Ken McIntyreMakanda Ken McIntyre was an American jazz musician and composer.-Biography:McIntyre was born in Boston, Massachusetts...
, and bassist
Ron CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
among others.
As a leader
Dolphy's recording career as a leader began with the
PrestigePrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
label. His association with the label spanned across 13 albums recorded from April 1960 to September 1961, though he was not the leader for all of the sessions.
FantasyFantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...
eventually released a 9-CD box set containing all of Dolphy's recorded output for Prestige.
Dolphy's first two albums as leader were
Outward BoundOutward Bound is a jazz album by Eric Dolphy, released in 1960. It was his first album as leader, and is considerably less adventurous and more standardly beboppish than his later recordings, though there are unorthodox elements that point to what was to come...
and
Out ThereOut There is a 1960 jazz album by Eric Dolphy. It was Dolphy's second album released as band leader, following his time with Charles Mingus. The album features four original compositions by Dolphy, one of which is a collaborative effort with Mingus...
. The first, more accessible and rooted more in the style of bop than some later releases, was recorded at
Rudy Van GelderRudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
's studio in New Jersey with hard-bop trumpeter
Freddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
. However the album still offered up challenging performances, which at least partly accounts for the record label's choice to include "out" in the title. Out There is closer to the
third streamThird Stream is a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller, within a lecture at Brandeis University, to describe a musical genre which is a synthesis of classical music and jazz...
music which would also form part of Dolphy's legacy, and reminiscent also of the instrumentation of the Hamilton group with
Ron CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
on cello and Dolphy on bass clarinet, clarinet and flute as well as saxophones.
Far Cry was also recorded for Prestige in 1960 and represented his first pairing with trumpeter
Booker LittleBooker Little, Jr was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.-Biography:Despite his premature death from kidney failure at the age of 23, Little made an important contribution to jazz. Stylistically, his sound is rooted in the playing of Clifford Brown, featuring crisp articulation, a burnished...
, a like-minded spirit with whom he would make a set of legendary live recordings at the
Five SpotThe Five Spot Café was a jazz club located at 5 Cooper Square in the Bowery neighbourhood of New York City.-History:In 1937, Salvatore Termini purchased what was then known as the Bowery Café, a working-class bar located under the Third Avenue El. In 1946, two of Termini's sons, Joe and Ignatze ...
in New York before Little's death at the age of 23.
Dolphy would record several unaccompanied cuts on saxophone, which at the time had been done only by
Coleman HawkinsColeman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
and
Sonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
before him. The album Far Cry contains one of his more memorable performances on the Gross-Lawrence standard "
Tenderly"Tenderly" is a popular song published in 1946 with music by Walter Gross and lyrics by Jack Lawrence.Copyright 1946 by Edwin H. Morris & Company, Inc....
" on alto saxophone, but it was his subsequent tour of Europe that quickly set high standards for solo performance with his exhilarating bass clarinet renditions of Billie Holiday's "
God Bless The Child"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in...
". Numerous recordings were made of live performances by Dolphy on this tour, in Copenhagen, Uppsala and other cities, and these have been issued by many sometimes dubious record labels, drifting in and out of print ever since.
20th century classical music20th century classical music was without a dominant style and highly diverse.-Introduction:At the turn of the century, music was characteristically late Romantic in style. Composers such as Gustav Mahler and Jean Sibelius were pushing the bounds of Post-Romantic Symphonic writing...
also played a significant role in Dolphy's musical career. He performed
Edgard VarèseEdgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
's
Density 21.5Density 21.5 is a piece of music for solo flute written by Edgard Varèse in 1936 and revised in 1946. The piece was composed at the request of Georges Barrère for the premiere of his platinum flute, the density of platinum being close to 21.5 grammes per cubic centimetre .Allmusic's Sean Hickey...
for solo flute at the
Ojai Music FestivalThe Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizing adventurous, eclectic, and challenging music, principally by contemporary composers...
in 1962 and participated in
Gunther SchullerGunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
's
Third StreamThird Stream is a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller, within a lecture at Brandeis University, to describe a musical genre which is a synthesis of classical music and jazz...
efforts of the 1960s.
In July 1963, Dolphy and producer Alan Douglas arranged recording sessions for which his sidemen were among the leading emerging musicians of the day. The results were his Iron Man and Conversations LPs. Around this time Dolphy's pianist was occasionally the young
Herbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, this group was recorded at the Illinois Concert and others.
In 1964, Dolphy signed with
Blue Note RecordsBlue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
and recorded Out to Lunch! with
Freddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
,
Bobby HutchersonBobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
, Richard Davis and Tony Williams. This album was deeply rooted in the avant garde, and Dolphy's solos are as dissonant and unpredictable as anything he ever recorded. Out to Lunch, his last major studio recording, is often considered his magnum opus.
Final months
After Out to Lunch! and an appearance as a sideman on
Andrew Hill'sAndrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
Point of Departure, Dolphy left to tour Europe with Charles Mingus' sextet in early 1964. (Dolphy also played with Mingus in 1960, as heard on the
Charles Mingus Presents Charles MingusCharles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded and released in 1960. To produce an atmosphere, Mingus makes spoken introductions "live" in the studio: hence the album's title....
and
Mingus at AntibesMingus at Antibes was originally a double album recorded at a live 1960 performance at Juan-les-Pins by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus; it was released in 1976....
albums). From there he intended to settle in Europe with his fiancée, who was working on the ballet scene in Paris. The Mingus band for this tour was extensively recorded, including on the Cornell 1964 album and is one of Mingus' strongest line-ups, including Dolphy and pianist
Jaki ByardJaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
. After leaving Mingus, he performed with and recorded a few sides with various European bands, including the mis-named Last Date with
Misha MengelbergMisha Mengelberg is a Dutch jazz pianist and composer. He won the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1961.-Biography:...
and
Han BenninkHan Bennink is a Dutch jazz drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured his playing on clarinet, violin, banjo and piano....
, and was preparing to join
Albert AylerAlbert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
for a recording.
Eric Dolphy died accidentally in Berlin on June 28, 1964. The circumstances of his passing are disputed. The liner notes to the Complete Prestige Recordings boxset say that Dolphy "collapsed in his hotel room in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and when brought to the hospital he was diagnosed as being in a
diabetic comaDiabetic coma is a reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. It is a medical emergency.Three different types of diabetic coma are identified:#Severe diabetic hypoglycemia...
. After being administered a shot of
insulinInsulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
(apparently a type stronger than what was then available in the US) he lapsed into
insulin shockHypoglycemia or hypoglycæmia is the medical term for a state produced by a lower than normal level of blood glucose. The term literally means "under-sweet blood"...
and died." A later documentary and liner note disputes this, saying Dolphy collapsed on stage in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and was brought to a hospital. The attending hospital physicians had no idea that Dolphy was a diabetic and decided on a stereotypical view of jazz musicians related to
substance abuseA substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
, that he had overdosed on drugs. He was left in a hospital bed for the drugs to run their course.
Dolphy was posthumously inducted into the
Down BeatDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine Hall of Fame in 1964. Coltrane paid tribute to Dolphy in an interview: "Whatever I'd say would be an understatement. I can only say my life was made much better by knowing him. He was one of the greatest people I've ever known, as a man, a friend, and a musician." Dolphy's mother, Sadie, who had fond memories of her son practicing in the studio by her house, gave instruments that Dolphy had bought in France but never played to Coltrane, who subsequently played the flute and bass clarinet on several albums before his own death in 1967. Dolphy was engaged to be married to Joyce Mordecai, a classically-trained dancer.
Influence
Dolphy's musical presence was hugely influential to a who's who of young jazz musicians who would become legends in their own right. Dolphy worked intermittently with
Ron CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
and
Freddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
throughout his career, and in later years he hired
Herbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
,
Bobby HutchersonBobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
and
Woody ShawWoody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage...
to work in his live and studio bands. Out to Lunch! featured yet another young lion who had just begun working with Dolphy in drummer Tony Williams, just as his participation on the Point of Departure session brought his influence into contact with up and coming tenor man
Joe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
.
Carter, Hancock and Williams would go on to become one of the quintessential rhythm sections of the decade, both together on their own albums and as the backbone of the second great quintet of
Miles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. This part of the second great quintet is an ironic footnote for Davis, who was not fond of Dolphy's music (in a 1964
Down BeatDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
Blindfold Test, Miles famously quipped, "The next time I see [Dolphy] I'm going to step on his foot.") yet absorbed a rhythm section who had all worked under Dolphy and created a band whose brand of "out" was unsurprisingly very similar to Dolphy's.
In addition, his work with jazz and rock producer Alan Douglas allowed Dolphy's style to posthumously spread to musicians in the
jazz fusionJazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
and rock environments, most notably with artists
John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
Frank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, a highly influential composer who drew his inspiration from a variety of musical styles and idioms, paid tribute to Dolphy's style in the instrumental "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" (on the 1970 album
Weasels Ripped My FleshWeasels Ripped My Flesh is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970.Given Zappa's already stated penchant for expressing his music in "phases"—We're Only in It for the Money was written up as "phase one of Lumpy Gravy"—conceptually, Zappa fans occasionally label this...
).
As leader
Prestige Records
- Status (1960)
- Dash One (1960)
- Outward Bound
Outward Bound is a jazz album by Eric Dolphy, released in 1960. It was his first album as leader, and is considerably less adventurous and more standardly beboppish than his later recordings, though there are unorthodox elements that point to what was to come...
(1960)
- Looking Ahead (1960)
- Fire Waltz (1960)
- Out There
Out There is a 1960 jazz album by Eric Dolphy. It was Dolphy's second album released as band leader, following his time with Charles Mingus. The album features four original compositions by Dolphy, one of which is a collaborative effort with Mingus...
(1960)
- The Caribe with the Latin Jazz Quintet (1960)
- Magic (1960)
- Far Cry
Far Cry is a 1960 album by jazz musician Eric Dolphy. This album is one of several Dolphy recordings to feature trumpeter Booker Little. Dolphy and Little were backed by Jaki Byard on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. Far Cry was recorded by engineer Rudy Van Gelder.-The...
(1960)
- Eric Dolphy (1960)
- Here and There
Here and There is a jazz album by saxophonist Eric Dolphy. It was originally released in 1961 on Prestige label as PRLP 7382. The album included three live takes recorded in different places and one studio take. The CD re-issue also includes a take of "G.W.", previously released on Dash One. Dolphy...
(1961)
- The Great Concert of Eric Dolphy [live] (1961)
- Live! at the Five Spot, Vols. 1 & 2
At the Five Spot volumes one and two is a pair of jazz albums documenting one night from the end of Eric Dolphy's two-week residency at the Five Spot in New York. This was the only night to be recorded; the engineer was Rudy Van Gelder...
(1961) with Mal Waldron and Booker Little
- Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vols. 1-3 [live] (1961)
- Copenhagen Concert [live] (1961)
- Quartet 1961 (1961)
- Eric Dolphy Quintet featuring Herbie Hancock: Complete Recordings (1962)
Blue Note
- Other Aspects
Other Aspects is a collection of previously unreleased jazz recordings by Eric Dolphy made between 1960 and 1962 and released first in 1987 by Blue Note Records.-Track listing:# "Jim Crow" — 15:22#"Inner Flight, No. 1" — 4:07...
(1960)
- The Illinois Concert
The Illinois Concert is a live jazz recording of a 1963 concert by Eric Dolphy, released first in 1999 by Blue Note Records.-Track listing:# "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" – 20:17...
(1963)
- Out to Lunch! (1964)
Other labels
- Hot & Cool Latin
Hot & Cool Latin is an LP released in 1959 by Eric Dolphy. It is the first release by Dolphy as a bandleader. The first eight tracks of the album consist of the final recordings Dolphy made with prior bandleader Chico Hamilton.-Track listing:#"Opening"...
(1959)
- Wherever I Go (1959)
- Candid Dolphy (1960)
- Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise (1961)
- Berlin Concerts [live] (1962)
- Vintage Dolphy (1962)
- Iron Man
Iron Man is a 1963 album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist, Eric Dolphy.-Track listing:Side 1:# "Iron Man" – 9:07# "Mandrake" – 4:50# "Come Sunday" – 6:24Side 2:# "Burning Spear" – 11:49# "Ode to C.P." – 8:05...
(1963)
- Conversations
Conversations is a 1963 album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist, Eric Dolphy.- Track listing :Side 1:# "Jitterbug Waltz" – 7:17# "Music Matador" – 9:35 Side 2:# "Love Me" – 3:22# "Alone Together" – 13:36- Personnel :...
(1963) (also known as Jitterbug Waltz)
- Last Date
Last Date is the last recorded concert from jazz musician Eric Dolphy. The concert, recorded on June 2, 1964 in Hilversum, Holland, was just 27 days before Dolphy's death of a diabetic coma.-Track listing:Side 1:# "Epistrophy" – 11:15...
(1964)
- Naima (1964)
- Unrealized Tapes (1964)
As sideman
With Ornette ColemanOrnette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
- Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation
Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation is the sixth album by jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, recorded in 1960. Its title established the name of the then-nascent free jazz movement...
(1960)
With John ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
- Olé Coltrane
Olé Coltrane is the ninth album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1962 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD 1373. His last album for Atlantic made under his supervision, unlike Coltrane's previous sessions done at their own studio, this was recorded at A&R Studios in New York.-Background:Two...
(1961)
- Africa/Brass (1961)
- Live! at the Village Vanguard
Live at the Village Vanguard is the tenth album by jazz musician John Coltrane and his first live album, released in 1962 on Impulse Records, catalogue A-10. It is the first album to feature the members of the classic quartet of himself with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones...
(1961)
- Impressions (One Track, "India") (1963)
With Phil Diaz
- The Latin Jazz Quintet (United Artists, 1961)
With Chico HamiltonChico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
- Chico Hamilton Quintet with Strings Attached (1958)
- The Original Ellington Suite (1958)
- Gongs East! (1958)
- That Hamilton Man (1959)(also released as Truth)
With Andrew HillAndrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
- Point of Departure (1964)
With John LewisJohn Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
- The Sextet of Orchestra U.S.A. (1964)
- John Lewis Presents Jazz Abstractions (1960)
With Abbey LincolnAnna Marie Wooldridge , better known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.-Biography:Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many...
- Straight Ahead
Straight Ahead is an album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Candid label.-Reception:...
(Candid, 1961)
With Booker LittleBooker Little, Jr was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.-Biography:Despite his premature death from kidney failure at the age of 23, Little made an important contribution to jazz. Stylistically, his sound is rooted in the playing of Clifford Brown, featuring crisp articulation, a burnished...
- Out Front
Out Front is an album by American jazz trumpeter Booker Little featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Candid label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 5 stars and stated "His seven now-obscure originals are challenging for the soloists and there are many strong...
(1960)
With Ken McIntyreMakanda Ken McIntyre was an American jazz musician and composer.-Biography:McIntyre was born in Boston, Massachusetts...
With Charles MingusCharles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Pre-Bird [aka Mingus Revisited] (1960)
- 'Mingus!' (1960)
- Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded and released in 1960. To produce an atmosphere, Mingus makes spoken introductions "live" in the studio: hence the album's title....
(1960)
- Mingus at Antibes
Mingus at Antibes was originally a double album recorded at a live 1960 performance at Juan-les-Pins by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus; it was released in 1976....
(1960)
- Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is a 1963 album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus.- Historical Context :...
(1963)
- Town Hall Concert (1964)
- The Great Concert of Charles Mingus (1964)
- Revenge! (1964)
- Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964
Cornell 1964 is a live concert recording of the Charles Mingus Sextet featuring Eric Dolphy recorded at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, on March 18, 1964...
(1964)
With Oliver NelsonOliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
- Screamin' the Blues (1960)
- The Blues and the Abstract Truth
The Blues and the Abstract Truth is a jazz album by Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961. It remains Nelson's most acclaimed album. It features a lineup of notable musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy , Bill Evans , Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes...
(1961)
- Straight Ahead
Straight Ahead is a jazz studio album by saxophonist Oliver Nelson. It features famous musicians such as Eric Dolphy on sax, clarinet and flute and Roy Haynes on drums. It was recorded in March 1961 at the celebrated Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs...
(1961)
With Max RoachMaxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
- Percussion Bitter Sweet
Percussion Bitter Sweet is an album by jazz drummer Max Roach recorded in 1961, released on Impulse! Records.-Track listing:All compositions by Max Roach, except where noted#"Garvey's Ghost" - 7:53#"Mama" - 4:50#"Tender Warriors" - 6:52...
(1961)
With George Russell
- Ezz-thetics
Ezz-thetics is an album by a sextet led by the jazz composer and music theorist George Russell. It features a re-reading of Russell's title composition and a radical reworking of Thelonious Monk's standard "Round Midnight" with an extended solo by Eric Dolphy. The title song, "Ezzthetic", was...
(1961)
With Mal WaldronMalcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- The Quest
The Quest is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1961 and released on the New Jazz label. Some reissues of the album appear under Eric Dolphy's name.-Reception:...
(New Jazz, 1961)
Further reading
- Vladimir Simosko & Barry Tepperman: Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography and Discography, Da Capo Press, New York, 1979, ISBN 0-306-80107-8
- Guillaume Belhomme: Eric Dolphy, Le mot et le reste, Marseille, 2008, ISBN : 9782915378535
External links