Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
alto saxophonist
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
,
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
ist and
flautist
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
. On a few occasions, he also played the
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the same era. His use of the bass clarinet helped to establish the instrument within jazz. Dolphy extended the vocabulary and boundaries of the alto saxophone, and was among the earliest significant jazz flute soloists.
His improvisational style was characterized by the use of wide
intervals
Interval may refer to:
Mathematics and physics
* Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers
** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets
* A statistical level of measurement
* Interval e ...
, in addition to employing an array of
extended techniques
In music, extended technique is unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional methods of singing or of playing musical instruments employed to obtain unusual sounds or timbres.Burtner, Matthew (2005).Making Noise: Extended Techniques after Expe ...
to emulate the sounds of human voices and animals. He used melodic lines that were "angular, zigzagging from interval to interval, taking hairpin turns at unexpected junctures, making dramatic leaps from the lower to the upper register." Although Dolphy's work is sometimes classified as
free jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...
, his compositions and solos were often rooted in conventional (if highly abstracted) tonal
bebop
Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
harmony.
Early life, family and education
Dolphy was born and raised in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. His parents were Sadie and Eric Dolphy, Sr., who immigrated to the United States from
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. He began music lessons at age six, studying clarinet and saxophone privately. While still in junior high, he began to study the oboe, aspiring to a professional symphonic career, and received a two-year scholarship to study at the music school of the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. Aged thirteen, he received a "Superior" award on clarinet from the California School Band and Orchestra festival. He attended
Dorsey High School
Susan Miller Dorsey High School is a high school located in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Village, Jefferson Park, West Adams a ...
, where he continued his musical studies and learned additional instruments. By 1946, he was co-director of the Youth Choir at the Westminster Presbyterian Church run by Reverend Hampton B. Hawes, father of the jazz pianist of the same name. He graduated in 1947, then attended
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...
, during which time he played contemporary classical works such as
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
's ''
L'Histoire du soldat
' (''The Soldier's Tale'') is a theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" () by three actors and one or several dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments. Conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer C. F. Ramuz, the piece was bas ...
'' and, along with
Jimmy Knepper
James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...
Roy Porter
Roy Sydney Porter, FBA (31 December 1946 – 3 March 2002) was a British historian known for his work on the history of medicine. He retired in 2001 from the director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at University College L ...
's ''17 Beboppers'', He went on to make eight recordings with Porter by 1949. On these early sessions, he occasionally played
baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
, as well as
alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
, flute and
soprano clarinet
A soprano clarinet is a clarinet that is higher in register than the basset horn or alto clarinet. The unmodified word ''clarinet'' usually refers to the B clarinet, which is by far the most common type. The term ''soprano'' also applies to t ...
.
Dolphy entered the U.S. Army in 1950 and was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Beginning in 1952, he attended the Navy School of Music. Following his discharge in 1953, he returned to L.A., where he worked with many musicians, including
Buddy Collette
William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.
Early life
William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
,
Eddie Beal
Eddie Beal (June 13, 1910, Redlands, California – December 15, 1984, Los Angeles) was an American jazz pianist. He was the brother of Charlie Beal.
Beal started on drums but switched to piano in his teens. Early in the 1930s he worked in the ...
, and
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
, to whom he later dedicated the tune "G.W.", recorded on ''
Outward Bound
Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
''. Dolphy often had friends come by to jam, enabled by the fact that his father had built a studio for him in the family's backyard. Recordings made in 1954 with
Clifford Brown
Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", an ...
document this early period.
Career
Dolphy gained his big break when he was invited to join
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...
's quintet in 1958. With the group he became known to a wider audience and was able to tour extensively through 1958–59, when he left Hamilton's group and moved to New York City. Dolphy appears with Hamilton's band in the film ''
Jazz on a Summer's Day
''Jazz on a Summer's Day'' is a concert film set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, directed by commercial and fashion photographer Bert Stern and Aram Avakian, who also edited the film. The Columbia Records jazz producer, George ...
'' playing flute during the
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...
of 1958.
Partnerships
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...
had known Dolphy from growing up in Los Angeles, and the younger man joined Mingus' Jazz Workshop in 1960, shortly after arriving in New York. He took part in Mingus' big band recording ''
Pre-Bird
''Pre-Bird'' (later re-released as ''Mingus Revisited'') is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title ''Pre-Bird''. It was released on Merc ...
'' (sometimes re-released as ''Mingus Revisited''), and is featured on "Bemoanable Lady". Later he joined Mingus' working band which then also included
Ted Curson
Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Life and career
Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...
. They worked at the Showplace during 1960 (memorialized in the poem "Mingus at the Showplace" by William Matthews), and recorded two albums together, ''
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
''Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus'' is an album by the jazz double bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded in October 1960 and released in December of the same year. The quartet of Mingus, multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, trumpet ...
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...
guesting on " I'll Remember April". Dolphy, Mingus said, "was a complete musician. He could fit anywhere. He was a fine lead alto in a big band. He could make it in a classical group. And, of course, he was entirely his own man when he soloed.... He had mastered jazz. And he had mastered all the instruments he played. In fact, he knew more than was supposed to be possible to do on them."
During this time, Dolphy participated in other recording sessions with Mingus for the Candid label and took part in the
Newport Rebels
''Newport Rebels'' is an album by various artists released under the Jazz Artists Guild, led by bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach, that was recorded in November 1960 and released on the Candid label.The Berlin Concerts
''The Berlin Concerts'' is a two-LP live album by Eric Dolphy. It was recorded on August 30, 1961, at two separate venues in Berlin, Germany, and was released by Inner City Records and Enja Records in 1978.
The album was recorded during Dolphy's ...
Stockholm Sessions
''Stockholm Sessions'' is an album by Eric Dolphy. It was recorded in September and November 1961 at the Swedish Broadcast station in Stockholm, Sweden, and was released by Inner City Records and Enja Records in 1981. The album was recorded during ...
''.) He was later among the musicians who worked on ''
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
''Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus'' is a studio album by the American jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus which was released on January 9, 1964.
Background
Mingus collaborated with arranger/orchestrator Bob Hammer to score the music for ...
'' in 1963, and is featured on "Hora Decubitus".
In early 1964, he returned to Mingus' working band, now including
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...
,
Johnny Coles
John Coles (July 3, 1926 – December 21, 1997) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Early life
Coles was born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 3, 1926. He grew up in Philadelphia and was self-taught on trumpet.
Later life and career
Coles spent his ...
, and
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...
. This sextet worked at the
Five Spot
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awar ...
before playing at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
and
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
in New York (both were recorded: '' Cornell 1964'' and ''
Town Hall Concert
''Town Hall Concert'' is a 1964 live album by the jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. It was recorded in New York City at The Town Hall on April 4, 1964. "So Long Eric" is a 12-bar blues that got its name after Eric Dolphy informed Mingus ...
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
knew each other long before they formally played together, having met when Coltrane was in Los Angeles with
Johnny Hodges
Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...
in 1954. They would often exchange ideas and learn from each other, and eventually, after many nights sitting in with Coltrane's band, Dolphy was asked to become a full member in early 1961. Coltrane had gained an audience and critical notice with
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
's quintet, but alienated some leading jazz critics when he began to move away from
hard bop
Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...
. Although Coltrane's quintets with Dolphy (including the ''
Village Vanguard
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
'' and ''
Africa/Brass
''Africa/Brass'' is the eighth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released on September 1, 1961 on Impulse! Records. The sixth release for the fledgling label and Coltrane's first for Impulse!, it features Coltrane's working quartet au ...
'' sessions) are now accepted, they originally provoked ''
DownBeat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' 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 olphyget hurt in this thing."
The initial release of Coltrane's residency 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
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
featuring the music recorded at the Vanguard was released on ''
Impulse!
Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...
'' in 1997, called ''
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
''The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings'' is a box set of recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, issued posthumously in 1997 by Impulse! Records, catalogue IMPD4-232. It collects all existing recordings from performances by the John C ...
''. The set features Dolphy heavily on both alto saxophone and bass clarinet, with Dolphy the featured soloist on their renditions of "
Naima
"Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album ''Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works.
History
Col ...
". A 2001
Pablo
Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul.
People
*Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer
*Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer
* Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer
* Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist
* Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer
* Pablo Br ...
box set, drawing on recordings of Coltrane's performances from his European tours of the early 1960s, features tunes absent from the 1961 Village Vanguard material, such as " My Favorite Things", which Dolphy performs on flute.
Booker Little
Trumpeter
Booker Little
Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) – accessed June 2010 was an American
and Dolphy had a short-lived musical partnership. Little's leader date for Candid, '' Out Front'', featured Dolphy mainly on alto sax, though he played bass clarinet and flute on some ensemble passages. In addition, Dolphy's album ''
Far Cry
''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games, all of which have been published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequen ...
'', recorded for
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
, features Little on five tunes (one of which, "Serene", was not included on the original LP release).
Dolphy and Little also co-led a quintet at the Five Spot during 1961. The rhythm section consisted of Richard Davis,
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
and
Ed Blackwell
Edward Joseph Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive, influential work with Ornette Coleman.
Biography
Blackwell's early career began in New Orleans ...
. One night was documented and has been released as '' At the Five Spot'' (plus a ''Memorial Album'') as well as the compilation '' Here and There''. In addition, both Dolphy and Little backed
Abbey Lincoln
Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
Dolphy also performed on key recordings by George Russell (''
Ezz-thetics
''Ezz-thetics'' is a studio album by the George Russell sextet, released on Riverside Records in mid-1961.
Recording and music
The album was recorded in May 1961. In addition to himself on piano, Russell's sextet contained trumpeter Don Ellis, ...
''),
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album ''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
Twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
''). He also worked and recorded with
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician.
Biography and works
Early years
Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...
(''
Jazz Abstractions
''Jazz Abstractions'' (subtitled ''John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall'') is a third stream album combining elements of jazz and classical music recorded in late 1960 for the Atlantic label.
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
. His association with the label spanned 13 albums recorded from April 1960 to September 1961, though he was not the leader for all of the sessions.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
released a 9-CD box set in 1995 containing all of Dolphy's recorded output for Prestige.
Dolphy's first two albums as leader were ''
Outward Bound
Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
'' and ''
Out There
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
''; both featured cover artwork by Richard "Prophet" Jennings. The first, sounding closer to hard bop than some later releases, was recorded at
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...
's studio in New Jersey with trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
, who shared rooms with Dolphy for a time when the two men first arrived in New York. The album features three Dolphy compositions: "G.W.", dedicated to
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
, and the blues "Les" and "245". ''Out There'' is closer to
third stream
Third stream is a music genre that is a fusion of jazz and classical music. The term was coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller in a lecture at Brandeis University. Improvisation is generally seen as a vital component of third stream.
Schu ...
music, which would also form part of Dolphy's work, and features Ron Carter on cello.
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...
's "Eclipse" from this album is one of the rare instances where Dolphy solos on
soprano clarinet
A soprano clarinet is a clarinet that is higher in register than the basset horn or alto clarinet. The unmodified word ''clarinet'' usually refers to the B clarinet, which is by far the most common type. The term ''soprano'' also applies to t ...
(others being "Warm Canto" from
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
's '' The Quest'', "Densities" from the compilation '' Vintage Dolphy'', and "Song For The Ram's Horn" from an unreleased recording from a 1962 Town Hall concert).
Dolphy occasionally recorded unaccompanied saxophone solos; his only predecessors were the tenor players
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
("Picasso", 1948) and
Sonny Rollins
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...
(for example "Body and Soul", 1958), making Dolphy the first to do so on alto. The album ''Far Cry'' contains his performance of the Gross-
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
standard "
Tenderly
"Tenderly" is a popular song published in 1946 with music by Walter Gross and lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Written in the key of E as a waltz in time, it has since been performed in 4/4 and has become a popular jazz standard. Notable versions have ...
" on alto saxophone, and, on his subsequent tour of Europe,
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...
's " God Bless the Child" was featured in his sets. (The earliest known version was recorded at the Five Spot during his residency with
Booker Little
Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961) – accessed June 2010 was an American
.) He also recorded two takes of a short solo rendition of "Love Me" in 1963, released on ''Conversations'' and ''Muses''.
Twentieth-century classical music was also part of Dolphy's musical career. He was very familiar with the music of composers such as
Anton Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...
and
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
, had a large record collection that included music by these composers, as well as by
Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
,
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
,
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
Donald Erb
Donald Erb (January 17, 1927 – August 12, 2008) was an American composer best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and ''Ritual Observances''.
Early years
Erb was born in Youngstown, Ohio, graduate ...
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...
. He visited Edgard Varèse at his home, and performed the composer's '' Density 21.5'' for solo flute at the
Ojai Music Festival
The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...
in 1962. Dolphy also participated in
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician.
Biography and works
Early years
Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...
's and
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
's
Third Stream
Third stream is a music genre that is a fusion of jazz and classical music. The term was coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller in a lecture at Brandeis University. Improvisation is generally seen as a vital component of third stream.
Schu ...
efforts of the 1960s, appearing on the album ''
Jazz Abstractions
''Jazz Abstractions'' (subtitled ''John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall'') is a third stream album combining elements of jazz and classical music recorded in late 1960 for the Atlantic label.
'', and admired the Italian flute virtuoso
Severino Gazzelloni
Severino Gazzelloni, born Severino Gazzellone (5 January 1919 – 21 November 1992) was an Italian flutist.
Biography
He was born in Roccasecca and died in Cassino. Gazzelloni was the principal flautist with the RAI National Symphony Orchestr ...
, after whom he named his composition ''Gazzelloni''.
Around 1962–63, one of Dolphy's working bands included the pianist
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
, who can be heard on '' The Illinois Concert'', ''Gaslight 1962'', and the unissued Town Hall concert with poet
Ree Dragonette
Ree Dragonette (November 13, 1918 – January 18, 1979) was an American poet active on the New York poetry scene in the 1960s and 1970s. She founded the Calliope Poetry Theatre in 1971 and ran it until 1978. Her poetry-and-jazz concert with Eric ...
.
In July 1963, producer Alan Douglas arranged recording sessions for which Dolphy's sidemen were emerging musicians of the day, and the results produced the albums ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' and ''
Conversations
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
'', as well as the ''Muses'' album released in Japan in late 2013. These sessions marked the first time Dolphy played with
Bobby Hutcherson
Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bob ...
, whom he knew from Los Angeles, and whose sister he dated at one point. The sessions are perhaps best known for the three duets Dolphy performs with bassist Richard Davis on "Alone Together", "Ode To Charlie Parker", and "Come Sunday"; the aforementioned release ''Muses'' adds another take of "Alone Together" and an original composition for duet from which the album takes its name.
In 1964, Dolphy signed with
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
and recorded ''
Out to Lunch!
''Out to Lunch!'' is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bobb ...
'' with
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
Bobby Hutcherson
Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bob ...
, Richard Davis and Tony Williams. This album features Dolphy's fully developed avant-garde yet structured compositional style rooted in tradition. It is often considered his ''magnum opus''.
European career
After ''
Out to Lunch!
''Out to Lunch!'' is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bobb ...
'' and an appearance on pianist/composer Andrew Hill's Blue Note album '' Point of Departure'', Dolphy left for Europe with Charles Mingus' sextet in early 1964. Before a concert in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, he informed Mingus that he planned to stay in Europe after their tour was finished, partly because he had become disillusioned with the United States' reception to musicians who were trying something new. Mingus then named the blues they had been performing "So Long Eric". Dolphy intended to settle in Europe with his fiancée Joyce Mordecai, who was working in the ballet scene in Paris. After leaving Mingus, he performed and recorded a few sides with various European bands, and American musicians living in Paris, such as
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
and Nathan Davis. '' Last Date'', originally a radio broadcast of a concert in Hilversum in the Netherlands, features
Misha Mengelberg
Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...
and
Han Bennink
Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano.
Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...
, although it was not Dolphy's last public performance. Dolphy was also planning to join
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.
After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
's group, and, according to Jeanne Phillips, quoted in A. B. Spellman's ''Four Jazz Lives'', was preparing himself to play with Cecil Taylor. He also planned to form a band with
Woody Shaw
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
, Richard Davis, and
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...
, and was writing a
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
, ''Love Suite''.
Personal life and death
Dolphy was engaged to marry Joyce Mordecai, a classically trained dancer who resided in Paris. Before he left for Europe in 1964, Dolphy left papers and other effects with his friends Hale Smith and Juanita Smith. Eventually much of this material was passed on to the musician
James Newton
James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist.
Biography
He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, inclu ...
. It was announced in May 2014 that six boxes of music papers had been donated to the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
.
On June 27, 1964, Dolphy traveled to Berlin to play with a trio led by
Karl Berger
Karl Hans Berger (born March 30, 1935 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a German jazz pianist, composer, and educator.
Career
Berger played piano in Germany when he was ten and worked in his teens at a club in Heidelberg. He learned modern jazz from v ...
at the opening of a jazz club called The Tangent. He was apparently seriously ill when he arrived, and during the first concert was barely able to play. He was hospitalized that night, but his condition worsened. On June 29, Dolphy died after falling into a diabetic coma. While certain details of his death are still disputed, it is largely accepted that he fell into a coma caused by undiagnosed diabetes. The liner notes to the ''Complete Prestige Recordings'' box set say that Dolphy "collapsed in his hotel room in Berlin and when brought to the hospital he was diagnosed as being in a diabetic coma. After being administered a shot of
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
he lapsed into
insulin shock
Diabetic hypoglycemia is a low blood glucose level occurring in a person with diabetes mellitus. It is one of the most common types of hypoglycemia seen in emergency departments and hospitals. According to the National Electronic Injury Survei ...
and died". A later documentary and liner notes dispute this, saying Dolphy collapsed on stage in Berlin and was brought to a hospital. The attending hospital physicians did not know that Dolphy was a diabetic and decided on a stereotypical view of jazz musicians related to
substance abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
, that he had overdosed on drugs. He was left in a hospital bed for the drugs to run their course. Unbeknownst to doctors, Dolphy was a
teetotaler
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...
who did not smoke cigarettes or take drugs.
Ted Curson
Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Life and career
Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...
remembered: "That really broke me up. When Eric got sick on that date n Berlin and him being black and a jazz musician, they thought he was a junkie. Eric didn't use any drugs. He was a diabetic—all they had to do was take a blood test and they would have found that out. So he died for nothing. They gave him some detox stuff and he died, and nobody ever went into that club in Berlin again. That was the end of that club". Shortly after Dolphy's death, Curson recorded and released ''
Tears for Dolphy
''Tears for Dolphy'' is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Ted Curson. The album's title track, an elegy for Eric Dolphy (who died at the end of June that year), has been used in many films.
Reception
Brian Morton and Richard Cook, writing for ...
'', featuring a title track that served as an elegy for his friend.
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...
said, "Usually, when a man dies, you remember—or you say you remember—only the good things about him. With Eric, that's all you could remember. I don't remember any drags he did to anybody. The man was absolutely without a need to hurt."
Dolphy was buried in
Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery in Los Angeles at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the Pico-Union district, southwest of Downtown.
It was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, o ...
in Los Angeles. His headstone bears the inscription "He Lives In His Music."
Influence
John Coltrane acknowledged Dolphy's influence in a 1962 ''
DownBeat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' interview, stating: "After he sat in... We began to play some of the things we had only talked about before. Since he's been in the band, he's had a broadening effect on us. There are a lot of things we try now that we never tried before. This helped me... We're playing things that are freer than before." Coltrane biographer
Eric Nisenson Eric Nisenson (February 12, 1946 – August 15, 2003) was an American author and jazz historian. The son of inventor Jules Nisenson, he was born in New York City and raised in Rye, New York. He attended New York University (NYU), where he studi ...
stated: "Dolphy's effect on Coltrane ran deep. Coltrane's solos became far more adventurous, using musical concepts that without the chemistry of Dolphy's advanced style he might have kept away from the ears of his public." In his book ''Free Jazz'', Ekkehard Jost provided specific examples of how Coltrane's playing began to change during the time he spent with Dolphy, noting that Coltrane started using wider melodic intervals like sixths and sevenths, and began focusing on integrating sound coloration and multiphonics into his solos. Jost contrasted Coltrane's solo on "India", recorded in November 1961 while Dolphy was with the group, and released on '' Impressions'', with his solo on " My Favorite Things", recorded roughly a year earlier, and released on the Atlantic album, and observed that on "My Favorite Things", Coltrane "accepted the mode as more or less binding, occasionally aiming away from it... at tones foreign to the scale," whereas on "India", Coltrane, like Dolphy, played "''around'' the mode more than ''in'' it."
Dolphy's musical presence was also influential to many young jazz musicians who would later become prominent. Dolphy worked intermittently with Ron Carter and
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
throughout his career, and in later years he hired
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
,
Bobby Hutcherson
Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bob ...
and
Woody Shaw
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
to work in his live and studio bands. ''
Out to Lunch!
''Out to Lunch!'' is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bobb ...
'' featured yet another young performer, drummer Tony Williams, and Dolphy's participation on Hill's '' Point of Departure'' session brought him into contact with the tenor player
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...
.
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
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
's second great quintet. This aspect of the second great quintet is an ironic footnote for Davis, who was critical of Dolphy's music: in a 1964 ''DownBeat'' "Blindfold Test", Miles quipped: "The next time I see olphyI'm going to step on his foot." However, Davis new quintet's rhythm section had all worked under Dolphy, thus creating a band whose brand of " out" was strongly influenced by Dolphy.
Dolphy's virtuoso instrumental abilities and unique style of jazz, deeply emotional and free but strongly rooted in tradition and structured composition, heavily influenced such musicians as
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...
, members of the
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jazz styles and plays many instruments, including "little ...
,
Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black ...
Don Byron
Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer.
Biography
His mother w ...
, and
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
.
Awards, honors, and tributes
Dolphy was posthumously inducted into the ''DownBeat'' magazine Hall of Fame in 1964.
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
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." After Dolphy died, his mother gave Coltrane his flute and bass clarinet, and Coltrane, who traveled with Dolphy's photograph, hanging it on his hotel room walls, proceeded to play the instruments on several subsequent recordings.
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
acknowledged Dolphy as a musical influence in the liner notes to the 1966 album ''
Freak Out!
''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's ...
'' and included a Dolphy tribute entitled "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" on his 1970 album ''
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock group the Mothers of Invention, and the tenth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. It is the second album released after the Mothers disbanded in 1969, preceded by ...
''.
Pianist
Geri Allen
Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...
analyzed Dolphy's music for her master's thesis at the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
, and paid tribute to Dolphy in tunes like "Dolphy's Dance," recorded and released on her 1992 album ''
Maroons
Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos.
...
''.
In 1989, Po Torch Records released an album titled "The Ericle of Dolphi," featuring
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation.
Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...
Dave Holland
David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years.
His extensive discography r ...
, and
Paul Lovens
Paul Lovens (born 6 June 1949) is a German musician. He plays drums, percussion, singing saw, and cymbals. He has performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.
He was born in Aachen, Germany. In the early ...
.
In 1997, the
Vienna Art Orchestra
The Vienna Art Orchestra was a European jazz group based in Vienna, Austria. Organized at different times as either a big band or as a smaller combo, it was regarded as one of the leading European jazz ensembles and was an official cultural ambas ...
released ''Powerful Ways: Nine Immortal Non-evergreens for Eric Dolphy'' as part of its 20th anniversary box-set.
In 2003, to mark what would have been Dolphy's 75th birthday, a performance was made in his honor of an original composition by
Phil Ranelin
Phil Ranelin (born May 25, 1939) is an American jazz and experimental music trombonist.
Career
Ranelin was born in Indianapolis and lived in New York City before moving to Detroit in the 1960s. He played as a session musician on many Motown rec ...
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...
designated June 20 as Eric Dolphy Day.
In 2014, marking 50 years since Dolphy's death, Berlin-based pianists
Alexander von Schlippenbach
Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...
and
Aki Takase
(born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.
Biography
Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography".A ...
led a project, ''
So Long, Eric!
''So Long, Eric! – Homage to Eric Dolphy'' is an album by Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach.
Background
Free jazz pioneer Eric Dolphy died in Berlin in 1964. Pianists Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach organised a Berlin music ...
'', celebrating Dolphy's music and featuring musicians such as
Han Bennink
Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano.
Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...
,
Karl Berger
Karl Hans Berger (born March 30, 1935 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a German jazz pianist, composer, and educator.
Career
Berger played piano in Germany when he was ten and worked in his teens at a club in Heidelberg. He learned modern jazz from v ...
,
Tobias Delius
Tobias Delius (born 15 July 1964) is a tenor saxophonist and clarinettist.
Early life
Delius was born in Oxford, England, on 15 July 1964. His mother was German and his father was Argentine. Delius was brought up largely in England and Germany. ...
,
Axel Dörner
Axel Dörner (born 26 April 1964 in Cologne, Germany) is a German trumpeter, pianist, and composer.
Biography
Dörner studied piano in the Dutch town Arnhem (1988–89) and at the Music Academy in Cologne (1989–1996). From 1991 he studied t ...
, and
Rudi Mahall
Rudi Mahall (born December 23, 1966) is a contemporary jazz bass clarinetist.
While studying classical clarinet, Mahall shifted towards contemporary music, improvisation and jazz.
He is, or was a member of following bands:
Avantgardeband ''Die ...
. That year also saw a Dolphy tribute by a Berlin-based group led by
Gebhard Ullmann
Gebhard Ullmann (born November 2, 1957) is a German jazz musician and composer.
Career
At the age of six, Ullmann started to play the recorder and later classical flute. Since 1976 he studied a.o. with Herb Geller and Dave Liebman and at ...
, who had previously founded a quartet named ''Out to Lunch'' in 1983. In the United States, the arts group ''Seed Artists'' presented a two-day festival entitled ''Eric Dolphy: Freedom of Sound'' in Montclair, NJ that year.
Dolphy's compositions are the inspiration for many tribute albums, such as
Oliver Lake
Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black ...
's ''
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
'' and ''
Dedicated to Dolphy
''Dedicated to Dolphy'' is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Oliver Lake, recorded in 1994 for the Italian Black Saint label.
'',
Jerome Harris
Jerome Harris (born April 5, 1953) is an American jazz musician specializing in electric and acoustic bass guitar, electric guitar, voice, and occasionally lap steel and small percussion.
He came to prominence in 1978 playing bass guitar and gui ...
' ''Hidden In Plain View'',
Otomo Yoshihide
is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics.
He first came to international prominence in the 1990s as the leader of the experimental rock group Ground Zero, and has since worked i ...
's re-imagining of ''Out to Lunch!'', Silke Eberhard's ''Potsa Lotsa: The Complete Works of Eric Dolphy'', and
Aki Takase
(born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.
Biography
Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography".A ...
and
Rudi Mahall
Rudi Mahall (born December 23, 1966) is a contemporary jazz bass clarinetist.
While studying classical clarinet, Mahall shifted towards contemporary music, improvisation and jazz.
He is, or was a member of following bands:
Avantgardeband ''Die ...
's duo album ''Duet For Eric Dolphy''.
The ballad ''Poor Eric'', composed by pianist
Larry Willis
Lawrence Elliott Willis (December 20, 1942 – September 29, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop, and avant-garde jazz, avant-garde.
Willis was b ...
and appearing on
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...
's 1966 Right Now! album, is dedicated to Dolphy.
Dolphy was the subject of a 1991 documentary titled ''Last Date'', directed by Hans Hylkema, written by Hylkema and Thierry Bruneau, and produced by Akka Volta. The film includes video clips from Dolphy's TV appearances, along with interviews with the members of the
Misha Mengelberg
Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...
trio, with whom Dolphy recorded in June 1964, as well as commentary from
Buddy Collette
William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.
Early life
William Marcel Collette was born in L ...
,
Ted Curson
Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Life and career
Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...
,
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...
,
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician.
Biography and works
Early years
Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...
Outward Bound
Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
Caribé
''Caribé'' is an album by the Latin Jazz Quintet with Eric Dolphy that was recorded in 1960 and released on the New Jazz label in February 1961.
Reception
AllMusic reviewer Richard S. Ginell stated: "This record is the equivalent of throwing ...
'' with The Latin Jazz Quintet (New Jazz, 1961)
* 1960: ''
Out There
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
'' (New Jazz, 1961)
* 1960: ''
Far Cry
''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games, all of which have been published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequen ...
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
, 1963) – live
* 1963: ''
Conversations
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
'' ( FM, 1963) – also released as ''Music Matador'' (Affinity)
Posthumous releases (July 1963 – )
* 1959–60: ''Hot & Cool Latin'' (Blue Moon, 1996)
* 1960–61: ''Candid Dolphy'' ( Candid, 1989) – alternate takes from sessions as a sideman
* 1960–61: ''Fire Waltz'' (Prestige, 1978) LP– reissue of Ken McIntyre's '' Looking Ahead'' (New Jazz, 1961) and
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
The Berlin Concerts
''The Berlin Concerts'' is a two-LP live album by Eric Dolphy. It was recorded on August 30, 1961, at two separate venues in Berlin, Germany, and was released by Inner City Records and Enja Records in 1978.
The album was recorded during Dolphy's ...
Stockholm Sessions
''Stockholm Sessions'' is an album by Eric Dolphy. It was recorded in September and November 1961 at the Swedish Broadcast station in Stockholm, Sweden, and was released by Inner City Records and Enja Records in 1981. The album was recorded during ...
'' (
Enja
Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971.
The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Ja ...
, 1981)
* 1961: ''1961'' (Jazz Connoisseur, ?) – live in Munich. also released as ''Live in Germany'' (Stash); ''Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise'' (Natasha Imports); ''Munich Jam Session December 1, 1961'' (RLR).
* 1962: ''Eric Dolphy Quintet featuring Herbie Hancock: Complete Recordings'' (Lone Hill Jazz, 2004) – also released as ''Live In New York'' (Stash); ''Left Alone'' (Absord); ''Gaslight 1962'' (Get Back)
* 1963: '' The Illinois Concert'' (Blue Note, 1999) – live
* 1962–63: '' Vintage Dolphy'' (GM Recordings/enja, 1986) – live
* 1963: ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' (Douglas International, 1968) – both ''Conversations'' and ''Iron Man'' were released as ''Jitterbug Waltz'' (Douglas , 1976) LP ''Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions'' (Resonance, 2019) CD
* 1964: ''
Out to Lunch!
''Out to Lunch!'' is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bobb ...
'' (Blue Note, 1964)
* 1964: '' Last Date'' (Fontana, 1964) – for radio program at
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...
* 1964: ''
Naima
"Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album ''Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works.
History
Col ...
'' (Jazzway/
West Wind
A west wind is a wind that originates in the west and blows in an eastward direction.
Mythology and Literature
In European tradition, it has usually been considered the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds.
In Greek mythology, ...
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
* Compilation: '' Unrealized Tapes'' (West Wind) – recorded in 1964 for ORTF radio program at Paris. also released as ''Last Recordings'' and ''The Complete Last Recordings In Hilversum & Paris 1964'' (Domino).
* Compilation: '' Other Aspects'' (
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
, 1987) – recorded in 1960 & 64
As sideman
With
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
Twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
'' (Atlantic, 1971) – recorded in 1959-61
With
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
* ''
Olé Coltrane
''Olé Coltrane'' is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane released in November 1961 on Atlantic Records. The album was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, and was the last of Coltrane's Atlantic albums to be made under his own supervision.
Ba ...
'' (Atlantic, 1961)
* ''
Africa/Brass
''Africa/Brass'' is the eighth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released on September 1, 1961 on Impulse! Records. The sixth release for the fledgling label and Coltrane's first for Impulse!, it features Coltrane's working quartet au ...
'' (Impulse!, 1961)
* ''
Live! at the Village Vanguard
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
* Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of album ...
'' (Impulse!, 1962) – recorded in 1961
* '' Impressions'' (Impulse!, 1963)
* ''
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
''The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings'' is a box set of recordings by jazz musician John Coltrane, issued posthumously in 1997 by Impulse! Records, catalogue IMPD4-232. It collects all existing recordings from performances by the John C ...
The Complete Copenhagen Concert
''The Complete Copenhagen Concert'' is a 1961 album by jazz musician John Coltrane. It was recorded November 20, 1961 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Track listing
:European CD releases: ''The Complete Copenhagen Concert'', (Magnetic MRCD 116), ''Complete ...
'' (Magnetic, -) /''Complete 1961 Copenhagen Concert'' (Gambit, 2009) – recorded in 1961
With
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...
The Three Faces of Chico
''The Three Faces of Chico'' is an album by the drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton, recorded in 1959 and released on the Warner Bros. label.
'' (Warner Bros., 1959)
* ''
That Hamilton Man
''That Hamilton Man'' is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton, recorded in 1959 and released on the SESAC label. The album was a limited release "electronic transcription" to promote SESAC-controlled material to radio stations. ...
'' (SESAC, 1959)
* ''
The Original Ellington Suite
''The Original Ellington Suite'' is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton's Quintet, recorded in 1958 but not released on the Pacific Jazz Records, Pacific Jazz label until 2000. The album was shelved and Hamilton recorded another set ...
'' (Pacific Jazz, 2000) – recorded in 1958
With
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
*''
The Wonderful World of Jazz
''The Wonderful World of Jazz'' is an album by pianist and composer John Lewis recorded for the Atlantic label in 1960.
'' (Atlantic, 1960)
* ''
Jazz Abstractions
''Jazz Abstractions'' (subtitled ''John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall'') is a third stream album combining elements of jazz and classical music recorded in late 1960 for the Atlantic label.
'' (Atlantic, 1961) – recorded in 1960
* ''
Essence
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
'' (Atlantic, 1962)
With
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...
* ''
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
''Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus'' is an album by the jazz double bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded in October 1960 and released in December of the same year. The quartet of Mingus, multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, trumpet ...
Pre-Bird
''Pre-Bird'' (later re-released as ''Mingus Revisited'') is an album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus consisting of music that was composed before Mingus first heard Charlie Parker, hence the title ''Pre-Bird''. It was released on Merc ...
'' (Mercury, 1961) – recorded in 1960. aka ''Mingus Revisited''.
* ''
Mingus
The name Mingus may refer to:
* Charles Mingus (1922–1979), jazz composer and double bass player
** Sue Mingus, wife of the jazz composer
** ''Mingus'' (Charles Mingus album), 1961 album by Charles Mingus
** ''Mingus'' (Joni Mitchell album) ...
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
''Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus'' is a studio album by the American jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus which was released on January 9, 1964.
Background
Mingus collaborated with arranger/orchestrator Bob Hammer to score the music for ...
'' (Impulse!, 1964) – recorded in 1963
* ''
Town Hall Concert
''Town Hall Concert'' is a 1964 live album by the jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. It was recorded in New York City at The Town Hall on April 4, 1964. "So Long Eric" is a 12-bar blues that got its name after Eric Dolphy informed Mingus ...
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album ''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...
Clifford Brown
Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car accident, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", an ...
, ''Clifford Brown + Eric Dolphy – Together: Recorded live at Dolphy's home, 1954'' (Rare Live Records, 2005)
* Ron Carter, '' Where?'' (New Jazz, 1961)
*
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...
Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
, ''
I Gotta Right to Swing
''I Gotta Right to Swing'' is a 1960 studio album by Sammy Davis Jr., accompanied by an uncredited Count Basie Orchestra, minus Count Basie himself.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Nick Dedina awarded the album four stars and said that the albu ...
'' (Decca, 1960)
* Phil Diaz, ''The Latin Jazz Quintet'' (United Artists, 1961)
*
Benny Golson
Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...
, ''
Pop + Jazz = Swing
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
'' (Audio Fidelity, 1961)
*
Ted Curson
Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Life and career
Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...
Gil Evans
Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...
, ''
The Individualism of Gil Evans
''The Individualism of Gil Evans'' is an album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans originally released on the Verve label in 1964. It features Evans' big band arrangements of five original compositions (two cowritten with Miles ...
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
, ''
The Body & the Soul
''The Body & the Soul'' is an album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard recorded in 1963 as his second and last release on the Impulse! label. It features performances by Hubbard with an orchestra and string section, and with a septet featuring Cur ...
'' (Impulse!, 1963)
*
Abbey Lincoln
Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...
Pony Poindexter
Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (February 8, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana – April 14, 1988, Oakland, California) was an American jazz saxophonist.
Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax. In 1940 he studied unde ...
, ''
Pony's Express
''Pony's Express'' is the debut album by saxophonist Pony Poindexter which was released on the Epic label in 1962.Fitzgerald, M.Pony Poindexter Leader Entryaccessed July 2, 2015
Reception
Ken Dryden of Allmusic stated: "It's a shame that Pony Po ...
'' (Epic, 1962)
*
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
Ezz-thetics
''Ezz-thetics'' is a studio album by the George Russell sextet, released on Riverside Records in mid-1961.
Recording and music
The album was recorded in May 1961. In addition to himself on piano, Russell's sextet contained trumpeter Don Ellis, ...
'' (Riverside, 1961)
*
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
, '' The Quest'' (New Jazz, 1962) – recorded in 1961
References
Further reading
* Belhomme, Guillaume. ''Eric Dolphy''. Le mot et le reste, Marseille, 2008.
* Horricks, Raymond. ''The Importance of Being Eric Dolphy''. D. J. Costello Publishers, Great Britain, 1989.
* Simosko, Vladimir and Tepperman, Barry. ''Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography and Discography''. Da Capo Press, New York, 1979.