Jazz Articles about Eric Dolphy

like 482

Charles Mingus: Mingus At Antibes

by C. Michael Bailey
August 10, 2005

Charles Mingus. You just have to know that he would have nudged, cajoled, or bullied his way into the top of this list, even twenty years after his death. Mingus at Antibes is a kinetic, frenetic, dysthymic document of the genius of an overly stimulated, overly indulgent, and overly gifted personality. Mingus was not unlike Mozart in the respect that many of Mozart's contemporaries pondered why God granted such an undeserving imp such talent. So with Mingus. How could such ...

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Eric Dolphy: A Deeply Dedicated Musician

by Nic Jones
December 21, 2004

In the forty years since his death Eric Dolphy's career has taken on a kind of substance that it never had in his lifetime. Partly this is due to the course jazz has taken within those forty years, one of the end results of which is a scene that in many ways is more conservative now than it was then.Brian Morton has referred to Dolphy's career as a series of transitions1 and there is something in this, hinting ...

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Eric Dolphy: Out to Lunch

by Trevor MacLaren
May 25, 2004

Eric Dolphy Out to Lunch Blue Note 1964

Being a Charles Mingus fanatic, I often ask the question, “Are you into Eric Dolphy?" To my appalled surprise, more often than not I get the response “Who?" That, my dear fellow jazzites, is totally unacceptable!

For those of the aforementioned group who have not been knocked down at the knees while Dolphy blows from the speakers, I'll testify. Before his untimely demise from ...

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Eric Dolphy: This is Eric Dolphy

by Michael Davis
January 18, 2004

This oft-reissued set still makes an ideal stocking-stuffer for several reasons beyond Eric Dolphy's continuing iconic stature.

First off is its amazing diversity, a batch of material ranging from formative, definitive free-bop ensemble performances to free duets with then—emerging bass giant Richard Davis. Actually, many of these musicians, including Bobby Hutcherson, Woody Shaw and Sonny Simmons, were just beginning to be heard at this time and everyone's playing is as fresh as it would ever be.

Perhaps this ...

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Eric Dolphy: Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise

by AAJ Staff
November 18, 2003

Hitting play on a reissue can be like stepping into a time capsule. In this case all the more so because the sound quality is Jurassic, but even despite incredible distortion and difficult resolution there's always room for more Dolphy on the shelf. Top-notch material here, displaying the same buoyant sense of adventure and unerring swing that made him a singular voice.

1961 was the young musician's second year on record as a leader and one of his ...

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Eric Dolphy: Far Cry

by David Rickert
November 11, 2002

In the early sixties, Eric Dolphy was one of the young rebels responsible for moving jazz forward in giant strides, advancements that led some to call his music “anti-jazz”. Although not quite as deliberately bizarre as Out to Lunch, Far Cry is still exactly that: a far cry from what virtually everyone considered jazz to be. On this session Dolphy is joined by two like-minded weirdos in Little and Byard, as well as an able rhythm section in Carter and ...

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Eric Dolphy: Far Cry (Remastered)

by C. Michael Bailey
October 2, 2002

Where have you gone, Eric Dolphy...

During his short life, Eric Dolphy was a tireless student of music. His elaborate classical training prepared his fertile mind with all of the background necessary to become essentially the anti-Vincent Van Gogh of jazz. While certainly appreciated as a musician during his lifetime, Dolphy’s appetite for innovation (even within the confines of an established musical structure) limited his job opportunities. Decried by neoconservatives as being too free and the jazz freedom fighters as ...