Eric Dolphy
Drawing of Eric Dolphy by Ansel Butler, 1962
Background information
Birth name	Eric Allan Dolphy
Born	June 20, 1928
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Died	June 29, 1964
Genre(s)	Jazz, Avant-garde jazz
Occupation(s)	bandleader, composer, sideman
Instrument(s)	alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet
Years active	1949 – 1964
Label(s)	Verve Impulse! Prestige Blue Note Mercury

Eric Allan Dolphy (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was a jazz musician who played alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (648x794, 54 KB)Cover of the Eric Dolphy album: Vintage Dolphy (1962) by Ansel Butler File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City 1,290. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form that originated around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in African American musical styles blended with Western music technique and theory. ... Avant-jazz (also known as avant-garde jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines elements of avant-garde art music composition with elements of traditional jazz. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he is not formally a member. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... Impulse! Records is an American based jazz record label, originally launched in 1960 by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... Prestige Records was a record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock (October 2, 1928–January 14, 2006). ... In jazz and blues notes added to the major scale for expressive quality, loosely defined by musicians to be an alteration to a scale or chord that makes it sound like the blues. ... Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Jazz is an original American musical art form that originated around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in African American musical styles blended with Western music technique and theory. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Saxophones of different sizes play in different registers. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ...

Dolphy was one of several groundbreaking jazz alto players to rise to prominence in the 1960s. He was also the first important bass clarinet soloist in jazz, and among the earliest significant flute soloists; he is arguably the greatest jazz improviser on either instrument. On early recordings, he occasionally played traditional B-flat soprano clarinet. His improvisational style was characterized by a near volcanic flow of ideas, utilizing wide intervals based largely on the twelve tone scale, in addition to using an array of animal-like effects which almost literally made his instruments speak. Although Dolphy's work is sometimes classified as free jazz, his compositions and solos had a logic uncharacteristic of many other free jazz musicians of the day; even as such, he was definitively avant-garde. In the years after his death his music was more aptly described as being "too out to be in and too in to be out". This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... Free jazz is a movement of jazz music characterized by diminished dependence on formal constraints. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ...

Life

Early life

Dolphy was born in Los Angeles and was educated at Los Angeles City College. He performed locally for several years, most notably as a member of the big band led by Roy Porter. Dolphy finally had his big break as a member of Chico Hamilton's quintet, with Hamilton he became known to a wider audience and was able to tour extensively through 1958, when he parted ways with Hamilton and moved to New York City. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Los Angeles City College is a community college in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard. ... Foreststorn Hamilton, better known as Chico Hamilton (born September 21, 1921 in Los Angeles) is a jazz drummer. ... Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ...

Early Partnerships

Dolphy wasted little time upon settling in New York City, quickly forming several fruitful musical partnerships, the two most important ones being with jazz legends Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, musicians he'd known for several years. While his formal musical collaboration with Coltrane was short (less than a year between 1961-62), his association with Mingus continued intermittently from 1959 until Dolphy's death in 1964. Dolphy was held in the highest regard by both musicians - Mingus considered Dolphy to be his most talented interpreter and Coltrane thought him his only musical equal. Nickname: Big Apple; City that never Sleeps; Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979), also known as Charlie Mingus, was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. ... John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), often known as Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ...

Coltrane had gained an audience and critical notice with Miles Davis's quintet. Although Coltrane's quintets with Dolphy (including the Village Vanguard and Africa/Brass sessions) are now legendary, they provoked Down Beat 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" ^[1]. Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most distinguished jazz musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... The Village Vanguard is a famous jazz club, located at 178 Seventh Avenue (just below W 11th St. ... Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to jazz. ...

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! in 1997. The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings carried over 15 tracks featuring Dolphy on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, adding a new dimension to these already classic recordings. A later Pablo box set from Coltrane's European tours of the early 1960s collected more recordings with Dolphy for the buying public. Impulse! Records is an American based jazz record label, originally launched in 1960 by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... Pablo Records was a record label founded by Norman Granz in 1973. ...

During this period, Dolphy also played in a number of challenging settings, notably in key recordings by Ornette Coleman (Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation), Oliver Nelson (The Blues and the Abstract Truth) and George Russell (Ezz-thetic), but also with Gunther Schuller and Max Roach among others. Ornette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) is an American saxophonist and composer. ... Oliver Nelson (1932–1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinettist, and composer. ... The Blues and the Abstract Truth is a hard bop album by Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961. ... George Allen Russell (born June 23, 1923) is an American jazz composer and theorist. ... Gunther Schuller Gunther Schuller (born November 22, 1925) studied at the St. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10 (according to the official records, though his family claims January 8), 1924)to parents Alphonse and Cressie Roach. ...

As A Leader

Dolphy's recording career as a leader began with the Prestige 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. Prestige eventually released a 9-CD box set containing all of Dolphy's recorded output for the label. Prestige means good reputation or high esteem. ... Prestige means good reputation or high esteem. ...

Out to Lunch, 1964

Dolphy's first two albums as leader were Outward Bound and Out There. The first is more accessible and rooted in the style of bop than some later releases, but it 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 stream music which would also form part of Dolphy's legacy, and reminiscent also of the instrumentation of the Hamilton group with Ron Carter on cello. Far Cry was also recorded for Prestige in 1960 and represented his first pairing with trumpeter Booker Little, a like-minded spirit with whom he would go on to make a set of legendary live recordings (At the Five Spot) before Little's tragic death at the age of 23. Image File history File links Dolphy_Out_To_Lunch. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Outward Bound is a jazz album by Eric Dolphy, released in 1960 (see 1960 in music). ... Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937, Ferndale, Michigan) is an American jazz bassist. ... Booker Little, Jr (born on April 2, 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee-died October 5, 1961 in New York City, NY) was a United States jazz trumpeter and composer. ... At the Five Spot volumes one and two is a pair of jazz albums documenting one night (16 July 1961) from the end of Eric Dolphys two-week residency at the Five Spot in New York. ...

Dolphy would record several unaccompanied cuts on saxophone, which at the time had been done only by Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins before him. The album Far Cry contains one of his more memorable performances on the Gross-Lawrence standard "Tenderly" 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". Numerous recordings were made of live performances by Dolphy, and these have been issued by many sometimes dubious record labels, drifting in and out of print ever since. Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins, nicknamed Hawk and sometimes Bean, (November 21, 1901 or 1904 - May 19, 1969) was a prominent jazz tenor saxophone musician. ... An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One Theodore Walter Sonny Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ...

20th century classical music also played a significant role in Dolphy's musical career, having performed and recorded Edgard Varèse's Density 21.5 for solo flute as well as other classical works, and participated heavily in the Third Stream efforts of the 1960s. 20th century classical music, the classical music of the 20th century, was extremely diverse, beginning with the late Romantic style of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Impressionism of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, the Neoclassicism of middle-period Igor Stravinsky, and ranging to such distant sound-worlds as the complete serialism of Pierre... Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ... Density 21. ... Third Stream Music is a term coined in 1957 by Gunther Schuller referring to the synthesis of classical music and jazz. ...

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.

In 1964, Dolphy signed with the legendary Blue Note label and recorded Out to Lunch (once again, the label insisted on using "out" in the title). 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 is often regarded not only as Dolphy's finest album, but also as one of the greatest jazz recordings ever made. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... In jazz and blues notes added to the major scale for expressive quality, loosely defined by musicians to be an alteration to a scale or chord that makes it sound like the blues. ... Out to Lunch was Eric Dolphys only recording for Blue Note Records as a leader. ... The Loves of Zero 35 mm film by Robert Florey 1927 Avant-garde in French means front guard, advance guard, or vanguard. ...

Last Year

After Out to Lunch and an appearance as a sideman on Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, Dolphy left to tour Europe with Charles Mingus' sextet(one of Mingus' most underrated bands and without a doubt one of the most exciting) in early 1964. From there he intended to settle in Europe with his fiancée, who was working on the ballet scene in Paris. After leaving Mingus, he performed with and recorded a few sides with various European bands and was preparing to join Albert Ayler for a recording. Out to Lunch was Eric Dolphys only recording for Blue Note Records as a leader. ... Andrew!!! (1964) Andrew Hill (born June 30, 1937) is an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Point of Departure is an album by jazz pianist and composer Andrew Hill, released on the Blue Note label. ... Albert Ayler (July 13, 1936–November 1970) was an American jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. ...

On the evening of June 28, 1964, Dolphy collapsed on the streets of Berlin and was brought to a hospital. The attending hospital physicians, who had no idea that Dolphy was a diabetic, thought that he (like so many other jazz musicians) had overdosed on drugs, so they left him to lie in a hospital bed until the "drugs" had run their course. Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

Dolphy would die the next day in a diabetic coma, leaving a short but tremendous legacy in the jazz world, which was immediately honored with his induction into the Down Beat magazine Hall of Fame that same year. 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." Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to jazz. ...

Influence

Dolphy's musical presence was deeply influential to a who's who of young jazz musicians who would become legends in their own right. Dolphy worked intermittently with Ron Carter and Freddie Hubbard throughout his career, and in later years he hired Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson and Woody Shaw at various times 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 Henderson. Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937, Ferndale, Michigan) is an American jazz bassist. ... Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (born April 7, 1938) is an American jazz trumpeter. ... Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Award winning jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Bobby Hutcherson (born January 27, 1941 in Los Angeles) is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. ... Woody Herman Shaw II (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American trumpeter and flugelhorn player. ... Out to Lunch was Eric Dolphys only recording for Blue Note Records as a leader. ... Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. ... Point of Departure is an album by jazz pianist and composer Andrew Hill, released on the Blue Note label. ... Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 - June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ...

Carter, Hancock and Williams would go on to become one of the quintessential avant-garde rhythm sections of the decade, both together on their own albums and as the backbone of the second great quintet of Miles Davis. This part of the second great quintet is an ironic footnote for Davis, who was not fond of Dolphy's music 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. Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was one of the most distinguished jazz musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ...

In addition, his work with jazz and rock producer Alan Douglas allowed Dolphy's unique brand of musical expression to posthumously spread to musicians in the jazz fusion and Rock environments, most notably with artists John McLaughlin and Jimi Hendrix. Frank Zappa, an eclectic performer who drew some of his inspiration from jazz music, paid tribute to Dolphy's style in the instrumental "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue." There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Bitches Brew (1970) by Miles Davis is considered the most influential early fusion album. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles, however saxophones have been omitted from newer subgenres of rock music since the 90s. ... Several people are named John McLaughlin: John McLaughlin (musician), an English jazz fusion guitar player. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. ...

Trivia

• When Dolphy left the Mingus Big Band to settle in Europe in 1964, Mingus composed a song in his honor entitled "So Long, Eric." After Dolphy's sudden death the song took on new meaning, and is viewed as a eulogy by some in the jazz world. It is now one of Mingus's more popular pieces.

Discography

As a leader:

• Truth (1959)
• Hot & Cool Latin (1959)
• Wherever I Go (1959)
• Status (1960)
• Dash One (1960)
• Outward Bound (1960)
• Here and There (1960)
• Looking Ahead (1960)
• Fire Waltz (1960)
• Other Aspects (1960)
• Out There (1960)
• The Caribe with the Latin Jazz Quintet (1960)
• Candid Dolphy (1960)
• Magic (1960)
• Far Cry (1960)
• Eric Dolphy (1960)
• The Quest (1961)
• The Great Concert of Eric Dolphy [live] (1961)
• Live! at the Five Spot, Vol. 1 (1961)
• Live! at the Five Spot, Vol. 2 (1962)
• Latin Jazz Quintet (1961)
• Berlin Concerts [live] (1962)
• Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 1 [live] (1961)
• Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 2 (1961)
• Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 3 (1961)
• Copenhagen Concert [live] (1961)
• Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise (1961)
• Quartet 1961 (1961)
• Vintage Dolphy (1962)
• Conversations (1963) (also known as Jitterbug Waltz)
• Iron Man (1963)
• The Illinois Concert [live] (1963)
• Out to Lunch (1964)
• Last Date (1964)
• Naima (1964)
• Unrealized Tapes (1964)

Chico Hamilton Outward Bound is a jazz album by Eric Dolphy, released in 1960 (see 1960 in music). ... At the Five Spot volumes one and two is a pair of jazz albums documenting one night (16 July 1961) from the end of Eric Dolphys two-week residency at the Five Spot in New York. ... At the Five Spot volumes one and two is a pair of jazz albums documenting one night (16 July 1961) from the end of Eric Dolphys two-week residency at the Five Spot in New York. ... Out to Lunch was Eric Dolphys only recording for Blue Note Records as a leader. ... Foreststorn Hamilton, better known as Chico Hamilton (born September 21, 1921 in Los Angeles) is a jazz drummer. ...

• The Original Ellington Suite (1958)

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979), also known as Charlie Mingus, was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. ...

• Mingus Revisted [aka Pre-Bird] (1960)
• Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus (1960)
• Mingus at Antibes (1960)
• Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (1963)
• Town Hall Concert (1964)
• The Great Concert of Charles Mingus (1964)
• Revenge! (1964)

Ornette Coleman Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus is a 1963 (see 1963 in music) album by jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus. ... Ornette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) is an American saxophonist and composer. ...

• Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (1960)

Oliver Nelson Oliver Nelson (1932–1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinettist, and composer. ...

• Screamin' the Blues (1960)
• The Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961)
• Straight Ahead (1961)

John Coltrane The Blues and the Abstract Truth is a hard bop album by Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961. ... John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), often known as Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ...

• Olé Coltrane (1961)
• Africa/Brass (1961)
• Live at the Village Vanguard (1961)
• Impressions (One Track, "India") (1963)

Makanda Ken McIntyre Olé Coltrane is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane. ... Africa/Brass is a 1961 album by John Coltrane, his first for the new Impulse! label. ... Impressions Impressions is a 1963 (see 1963 in music) album by jazz musician John Coltrane. ... Makanda Ken McIntyre (born Kenneth Arthur McIntyre in Boston, Massachusetts, September 7, 1931; d. ...

• Looking Ahead (1960)

Andrew Hill Andrew!!! (1964) Andrew Hill (born June 30, 1937) is an American jazz pianist and composer. ...

• Point of Departure (1964)

Point of Departure is an album by jazz pianist and composer Andrew Hill, released on the Blue Note label. ...

References

1. ^ Interview with Frank Kofsky in Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music p242

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Eric Dolphy

• A Dolphy website and instructions for mailing list
• Session and discography