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Under-Appreciated Audio Resources Present Eric Dolphy.


 ERIC DOLPHY - Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessi

It is cold and rainy in St. Paul. 

Listening to Eric Dolphy. Solo and with a band. Jazz. 

The music is inspired, recorded in 1963. The sound is direct and fluent. The slight enhancement of pot tightens the mind’s links with ears. The instruments are each uniquely marked by their aural shapes in that plane of the universe just ahead of me. I hear the breath from Dolphy’s chest; percussive key runs on the sides of the saxophone. I almost feel the pressure on calluses modulating notes on bass strings. This tune is Alone Together with Dolphy on alto sax and Richard Davis on bass. An alternate take. 

 There are additional horns and more excellence in the mix on other tunes but the solos, as with Dolphy and Davis trading on Alone Together and with Dolphy, alone, on Love Me, are somehow brought most directly here, into my very presence. Maybe Dolphy and Davis played with the echo to achieve an experience of more than three dimensions. I can hear their moves in the room. Like The Who when they were Live at Leeds. Guitar soloists following Dolphy’s sax on Love Me would be leaving their instruments with broken necks, charred bodies, Buddha offerings and throbbing streams of feedback on floors in the dark. 

Did I say it sounds fantastic? 

 A mono recording. It cedes not a note of excellence to stereo versions. 

From the public library. 

 Zev Feldman and Resonance Records made a three cd set taken from Dolphy’s personal tapes of sessions for two LPs (Conversations and Iron Man) and added a set of outtakes from those 1963 sessions. The collection is called Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (2018). I have not latched onto every song as a new favorite but the drive and ambition of the music is undeniable, even in less convincing songs as Burning Spear. Best of the three discs: the outtakes volume. 

Musicians: Dolphy: alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, William “Prince” Lasha: flute, Huey “Sonny” Simmons: alto saxophone, Clifford Jordan: soprano saxophone, Woody Shaw: trumpet, Garvin Bushell: bassoon, Bobby Hutcherson: vibes, Richard Davis: bass, Eddie Khan: bass, J.C. Moses: drums, Charles Moffett: drums. 

A U.S. Army veteran, Dolphy died young in 1964, due to a sudden crisis of undiagnosed diabetes. 

I have only lately come to appreciate Eric Dolphy’s music. He was noted for use of baritone clarinet as well as saxophones and flute. He followed the trail of Charlie Parker, played with John Coltrane and Charles Mingus before becoming a leader in post-bop and avant garde jazz. With only a few years of headlining, he stayed close to bebop roots to my ears and is more conventional and easier to “get” compared to, say, the challenging Albert Ayler. Dolphy connected with modern classical composers as well as with twentieth century jazz contemporaries. 

 I’ve gained my appreciation of Dolphy by first borrowing his recordings from The Saint Paul Public Library, as well as a detailed recent biography, Jonathon Gasse’s Jazz Revolutionary, The Life & Music of Eric Dolphy. 

So, please think about and support, financially and otherwise, these under-appreciated resources: Resonance Records, part of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which found, re-engineered and produced the cd set. Find at Bandcamp . A great booklet with photos and interviews, too. I’m ordering tonight. $25+. 

Dolphy’s family donated his music collection to the United States Library of Congress and was compensated for this use of his music. May I suggest that you learn more about the Library and its many resources and recent challenges? https://www.loc.gov/item/2014565637/ 

The Saint Paul Public Library collected this album and I will be one of many to enjoy it. Support your public library. 

P.S.: Received my purchase yesterday. Brilliant.

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