''Iron Man'' is an album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

, recorded in 1963 and released by the Douglas International label in 1968. The album was reissued on disc two of ''Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions'', released in 2018 by

Resonance Records Resonance Records is an independent jazz record label established in 2008 as the centerpiece of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation, a non–profit organization dedicated to preserving the art and legacy of jazz. The label is based in Los Angeles, Ca ...

Recording

The music on ''Iron Man'' was recorded during two dates arranged by Alan Douglas: a July 1, 1963 session featuring just Dolphy and bassist Richard Davis, and a July 3 session with nearly a dozen musicians. The July 1 session produced "

Come Sunday "Come Sunday" is a piece by Duke Ellington, which became a jazz standard. It was written in 1942 as a part of the first movement of a suite entitled ''Black, Brown and Beige''. Ellington was engaged for a performance at Carnegie Hall on Januar ...

" and "Ode to Charlie Parker" and another track, " Alone Together", which appeared on the album ''

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 ...

''. An alternate version of "Alone Together", along with two previously-unreleased versions of a tune written by

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

titled "Muses for Richard Davis", also recorded that day, appeared on ''Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions''. The remaining three tracks on ''Iron Man'' were recorded during the July 3 session, which also yielded the tracks "

Jitterbug Waltz "Jitterbug Waltz" is a 1942 jazz composition by Fats Waller and initially recorded the same year by Fats Waller and His Rhythm. It was also recorded by Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Chet Atkins, Vince Guaraldi, Butch Thompson, Al Hirt, Eric Dolphy, ...

", "Music Matador", and "Love Me", released on ''Conversations''. Alternate takes of most of the July 3 pieces can be found on ''Musical Prophet''. Alternate versions of five of the pieces recorded on both July dates also appeared on the 2013 Japanese release ''Muses''. The album liner notes state: The July sessions marked the recorded debut of trumpeter

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 ...

, who was eighteen at the time.

Reception

In an

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review, Steve Huey wrote that, compared to ''Conversations'', "''Iron Man'' is every bit as essential and strikes a more consistent ambience than its widely varied twin. It also more clearly anticipates the detailed, abstract sound paintings of Dolphy's masterwork '' Out to Lunch'', in large part because this time around the program is weighted toward Dolphy originals." He called the recordings "classic sessions" and stated that they "constitute some of the most brilliant work of the early-'60s avant-garde." The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' commented: "''Iron Man'' is... valuable for two fine duets with Richard Davis and for glimpses of Dolphy playing with the ill-fated Woody Shaw, a desperately underrated but unforgivably prodigal trumpeter whose recorded legacy is only a fraction of what it ought to be." Dolphy biographers Vladimir Simosko and Barry Tepperman called "Burning Spear" "a tantalizing example of the kind of arranging Dolphy must have been capable of turning out", and wrote that "Iron Man" is "an especially strong, vital performance."

Track listing

Side 1: # "Iron Man" – 9:07 # "Mandrake" – 4:50 # "

" ( Ellington) – 6:24 Side 2: # "Burning Spear" – 11:49 # "Ode to Charlie Parker" ( Byard) – 8:05 All songs composed by

Dolphy Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (; July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), better known by his stage names Dolphy, Pidol, and Golay, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied ...

except as noted.

Personnel

–

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 ...

flute 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 ...

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 ...

* Richard Davis – bass *

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 ...

–

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

Sonny Simmons Huey "Sonny" Simmons (August 4, 1933 – April 6, 2021) was an American jazz musician. Biography Simmons was born on August 4, 1933 in Sicily Island, Louisiana. He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the English horn. (Along w ...

–

Prince Lasha William B. Lawsha, better known as Prince Lasha (), (September 10, 1929 – December 12, 2008) was an United States of America, American jazz alto saxophonist, flautist, baritone saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist and English horn player. Life a ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

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 ...

– vibes *

Eddie Khan Eddie Khan (born 1935, died 1985 or 1986) was an American jazz bassist who worked extensively with Max Roach, Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard and Andrew Hill. Allmusic credits/ref> Discography As sideman * Bill Barron: ''Modern Windows Suite'' ( ...

– bass ("Iron Man") *

J.C. Moses JC may refer to: Airlines *JC International Airlines, Cambodia *Japan Air Commuter (IATA code: JC) * JAL Express (1998–2014; IATA: JC), Japan *Rocky Mountain Airways (1965–1991; IATA: JC), United States Arts and media * "JC" (song), a 1996 s ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Man 1963 albums Eric Dolphy albums Albums produced by Alan Douglas (record producer) Albums with cover art by Mati Klarwein