Articles

Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.

RADIO February 4, 2020

Silenced in Their Prime - Eric Dolphy & Booker Little (1961 - 1964)

From his first recordings with Chico Hamilton in 1958 until his untimely death from misdiagnosed diabetic shock in 1964, Eric Dolphy was limited to only six years in which to record the music that has defined his extraordinary legacy. Previously, in this series, we have heard from Dolphy's great 1960 recording, Far Cry and his contributions to Charles Mingus's band. The final three years of this story includes recordings under the leadership of Oliver Nelson, Abbey Lincoln, Ron Carter, Mal ...

MULTIPLE REVIEWS February 3, 2020

Vintage Dolphy

By Duncan Heining

Vintage Dolphy appeared originally in 1986/7 on both vinyl and CD. Featuring recordings from three separate live performances from Eric Dolphy, two at Carnegie Hall, both with his own quartet and in two 'third stream' settings devised by Gunther Schuller, the album provided intriguing insights into Dolphy's improvisational skills and approach. Were this not enough, the 1996 edition added a jam session from the Carnegie Hall concert where the quartet tracks were recorded. Featuring a group of mainly hard-boppers performing ...

ALBUM REVIEW March 2, 2019

Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Sessions

By Mike Jurkovic

2018 was a spectacular year for archival jazz. Just a quick glance at last year's releases includes John Coltrane's Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album (Verve), Coltrane's further adventures on Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 (Legacy), and Erroll Garner's revelatory Nightconcert (Mack Avenue Records) quickly taking its place alongside the pianist's The Concert by the Sea (Columbia, 1955) for historical importance. Towards the end of the year, lost broadcasts by Charles ...

ALBUM REVIEW February 28, 2019

Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Sessions

By John Sharpe

This lovingly and lavishly packaged set reissues two of reedman Eric Dolphy's LPs along with outtakes from the two day 1963 sessions which yielded them, along with some unreleased later material on which Dolphy was a sideman. The set places a well-deserved focus on one of the pioneers of what became known as the New Thing, whose voice was tragically silenced less than a year later from undiagnosed diabetes at the age of 36. Even during his brief ...

RADIO February 28, 2019

Reissued Eric Dolphy and new sounds from Federica Michisanti

By Bob Osborne

The release of 1963 recordings from Eric Dolphy on Musical Prophet together with new music from Italian bassist Federica Michisanti, alongside a broad selection of older tracks make up an eclectic show. Playlist Eric Dolphy “Jitterbug Waltz" from Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (Resonance) 00:00 Federica Michisanti Horn Trio “Morning Sewing" from Silent Rides (Filibusta Records) 08:44 Bill Moring & Way Out East “Sweat" from Spaces in Time (Owl Studios) 15:06 Avery Sharpe ...

ALBUM REVIEW January 9, 2019

Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet:The Expanded 1963 New York Sessions

By Karl Ackermann

Eric Dolphy's Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Sessions was released as a limited-edition vinyl recording in November 2018 and a CD and digital collection two months afterward. Flautist James Newton, Jason Moran and Resonance Records aided in procuring and restoring the original tapes for this box set. The multi-instrumentalist Dolphy enjoyed only a brief recording career but this collection demonstrates a wide range of interests. Free jazz, avant-garde, mainstream, and classical influences share space in this eclectic collection. ...

ALBUM REVIEW January 7, 2019

Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Sessions

By Troy Dostert

Although his iconic Out to Lunch! (Blue Note, 1964) is one of a handful of undisputed avant-garde jazz masterpieces, Eric Dolphy's stature has never quite risen fully to the level of the jazz titans. Some of this is probably due to his untimely death at age 36, just as he was reaching new creative peaks; and some of it is just unfair obscurity, as he never received the steady major-label support that would have allowed him the widest possible audience. ...