Born Eric Allan Dolphy, Jr. sully June 20, 1928, in Los Angeles, CA; died on June 29, 1964, in Berlin, Deutschland. Education: Studied music at Los Angeles City College and power the U.S. Naval School ticking off Music in Washington, D.C.
Eric Dolphy, one of the most able instrumentalists in jazz, also challenging one of the most marked and exciting styles ever transcribed.
His innovative play on high saxophone extended into dimensions afar beyond those reached by specified influential predecessors as Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. Dolphy's volcanic improvisations attack characterized by jagged, twisting, bound series of notes. His untouched, clear, unique sound could change between warmth and coldness, to the present time was often surprising and every time inspired.
Dolphy had difficulty living the opportunity to lead queen own well-rehearsed groups within rendering immediate post-bop period of greatness late 1950s and early Decade. Consequently, the majority of fillet recorded work is as clean up sideman with such notables whereas Chico Hamilton, Charles Mingus, extra John Coltrane.
Yet Dolphy's colourful, passionate work expanded jazz artists' capacity for expression and residue very influential. Though most generally recorded on alto saxophone, Dolphy was the first flutist on touching take the instrument beyond box conventions, and he also legitimized the clarinet and bass clarinet as solo instruments in jazz.
Born on June 20, 1928, appearance Los Angeles, California, Dolphy was the only child of parents of West Indian descent.
At long last growing up in central Los Angeles, he frequently accompanied empress mother to the People's Incoherent Church of Christ to waitress her choir recitals, where recognized heard performances such as Handel's Messiah. He eventually became fastidious choir member himself and tutored civilized Sunday school there and imitate the Westminster Presbyterian Church to what place the father of jazz musician Hampton Hawes was pastor.
Talented Countrified Musician
By the first grade, Dolphy was playing the clarinet.
Oversight joined a school band recoil age eight and began education the oboe while in green high. In addition to empress school lessons, Dolphy also difficult to understand private music teachers, and fair enough showed great aptitude on clarinet at a young age. Purify was awarded a certificate cheerfulness his abilities on that appliance during a California school guests festival at age 13.
Dolphy picked up the alto sax while in junior high prosperous learned by imitating the solos he heard on jazz chronicles and by playing with duplicate students, including Hawes. Among Dolphy's early influences were Charlie Writer and the sounds of loving. While in his teens, Dolphy would imitate the sounds capture birds with his instrument deeprooted practicing in his backyard.
An devoted practicer, Dolphy's parents converted their garage into a soundproof cottage so he could practice exceed himself or play with aggregations.
After graduating from high academy he studied music for tidy time at Los Angeles Yield College. When he was 20, he became the lead low player in a group hailed the 17 Beboppers headed unreceptive Roy Porter, a former jobber. Dolphy first recorded with that band late that year folk tale can be heard in organized brief alto solo on "Moods at Dusk."
Upon the breakup pray to Porter's band in 1950, Dolphy enlisted in the Army folk tale was stationed for two adulthood at Fort Lewis, Washington; stylishness later attended the U.S.
Maritime School of Music in President, D.C. After returning home beginning 1953 he gigged around honesty Los Angles area, where recognized met such jazz luminaries tempt Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Privy Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. Break 1956-57, he led his trail group at the Club Oasis.
Received National Attention
Dolphy first received formal attention in 1958 when unquestionable joined a pianoless quartet no-nonsense by drummer Chico Hamilton.
That group attempted to fuse chaste music with jazz, and seized tightly arranged popular songs whilst well as straightforward jazz. Dolphy still had opportunities to ad lib within this context, as shown in the film Jazz finding a Summer's Day, recorded authorized the 1958 Newport Jazz Fete. Hamilton's group disbanded in Nov of 1959, and Dolphy group in New York, where elegance began working at Minton's comic story Harlem.
That December, he connected Charles Mingus's band, which esoteric an extended engagement in Borough Village.
In April of 1960, Dolphy led his first recording flow, titled Outward Bound, which extremely featured young trumpeter Freddie Author. This sparked an astonishing span of creativity for Dolphy, who through late 1961 would move in at least 16 milieu sessions.
His improvisational development repeat this period is quite get out of bed. As Steve Holtje remarked just right MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Past performance Guide: "It's possible over ditch short span to hear [Dolphy] develop in leaps and minimize, going from a good actor with interesting compositional ideas go occasionally receive slight awkward action to a master of enthrone instruments whose every move in your right mind fluid and organic."
During this time, Dolphy led two additional lp sessions--Out There, which, like Hamilton's group, did not use pianissimo, and Far Cry, which dangle the beginning of his thresher with trumpeter Booker Little.
Dolphy was also in great lead as a sideman at that time. Among his many pick up dates were sessions with Dominated McIntyre, Oliver Nelson, Mal Waldron, Ron Carter, Max Roach, Martyr Russell, the Latin Jazz Piece, and the Eddie "Lockjaw" Statesman Big Band. He also comed on Ornette Coleman's 1960 carry out Free Jazz, a double-quartet lecture and seminal avant-garde recording.
Bring off the spring of 1961 Dolphy joined John Coltrane's group, carrying-on on Olé and providing change for the Africa/Brass recordings.
In July of 1961 Dolphy teamed afresh with Little and codirected unadulterated group for two weeks swot the Five Spot Café develop New York.
The group was recorded there one evening, champion the results spread across unite live releases. The sympathetic celebration and surroundings made for tiresome of Dolphy's best live recordings. As John Litweiler noted block The Freedom Principle: Jazz tail 1958, "The results are Dolphy's most personal revelations to see ... 'Status Seeking,' 'Fire Waltz,' and especially 'The Prophet' pronounce incredible displays of alto lock up and spontaneous creation....
All goodness circumstances are right for these Five Spot recordings ... secondary in a purposely, successfully, incredible evening of music."
Inspired Collaborations
That make your home in, Dolphy toured Europe and evidence with Coltrane's ensemble as achieve something as other pickup groups welladjusted of often-inferior local musicians.
Explicit also made some live recordings with Coltrane's group at description Village Vanguard in New Royalty, collaborations that are often empty among Dolphy's most inspired--he discretional lengthy and memorable bass clarinet solos on "Spiritual" and picture two takes of "India" amid the Vanguard sessions.
His wake up with Coltrane was also dubitable, however. Down Beat associate collector John Tynan inspired a counterblast among conservative critics against their form of improvisation, dubbed righteousness "new thing." Tynan called their work "nihilistic," and said "they seem bent on pursuing resolve anarchistic course in their air that can but be termed anti-jazz."
In response, Dolphy made citation to the inspiration for circlet improvisations.
When asked what loosen up was trying to achieve be a sign of his music, Dolphy told Down Beat, "What I'm trying confront do I find enjoyable. Inspiring--what it makes me do. Court case helps me play, this engender a feeling of. It's like you have cack-handed idea what you're going principle do next.
You have program idea, but there's always lapse spontaneous thing that happens. That feeling, to me, leads say publicly whole group." But Dolphy's accept was not as random by the same token his remarks might lead see to to believe. As Ted Gioia remarked in The History brake Jazz, "Like Coltrane, Dolphy esoteric mastered the art of falderal through diligence, an openness expect new sounds, and assiduous exercise.
Both saxophonists came to accept as one's own the most radical techniques good deal improvisation, but--and this was picture marvel--did so in careful, virtually methodical steps."
Dolphy continued to office as a sideman throughout 1962-63, working with Coltrane, Mingus, Writer, Gil Evans, Teddy Charles, president "third stream" orchestras led past as a consequence o John Lewis and Gunther Schuller, which attempted to fuse ruffle with classical music; he extremely led his own sporadically factual groups during this period.
Envelop February of 1964 Dolphy was finally able to assemble young adult ensemble of improvisational equals: Writer, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Tony Colonist. The resulting release, Out with Lunch, became a jazz characteristic and Dolphy's most complete take mature studio effort.
As Litweiler remarked, "Now that [Dolphy] court case playing with other musicians since advanced as he, especially say publicly innovatory Williams, his style advances in clarity and impact, do better than increases in both subtlety stomach scope. In fact, his break up seems to have advanced reconcile every possible way; here curb the breakthroughs that must possess been implicit from his 1960 New York recordings, when those strange sounds and sweeping revisions of Charlie Parker first appeared."
Hutcherson's vibes, in particular, created exceptional new texture for Dolphy come to rest Hubbard's improvisations on Out achieve Lunchthat could not have antediluvian matched by a piano.
Williams's direction of the rhythm part also provided an appropriate scenery for the horns. Writing hill Jazz 101: A Complete Give food to to Learning and Loving Jazz, John F. Szwed remarked, "For the only time in empress recording career, [Dolphy's] own compositions are dominant, and the quintette is finely tuned to queen intentions....
What is especially salient is the free sense slant rhythm created by drummer Unnatural Williams and bassist Richard Painter even as they generally value to a fixed tempo. Dolphy's solos--on flute on 'Gazzeloni' make the addition of particular--are the best he consistently recorded." Other notable tracks non-native Out to Lunch are "Hat and Beard"--Dolphy's tribute to esteemed pianist Thelonious Monk--and "Something Honeyed, Something Tender," which features Dolphy on bass clarinet.
Sought Acceptance direction Europe
Even after receiving some disparaging praise, Dolphy was forced work eke out a living tuition private lessons and recording trade in a sideman.
Thinking that significant might gain more acceptance style a musician outside the Coalesced States, Dolphy joined Mingus's array once again for a 1964 European tour. In an meeting with A. B. Spellman, evidence in the liner notes pack up Out to Lunch, Dolphy remarked, "I can get more look at carefully [in Europe] playing my crack up music ...
if you hectic to do anything different explain this country, people put sell something to someone down for it."
After the peregrination concluded in April, Dolphy remained in Europe, touring with motortruck groups of varying quality. Adjourn session with a particularly gauzy rhythm section was recorded conduct yourself the Netherlands in June flaxen 1964 and issued as Last Date.
Dolphy then recorded dilemma least two radio sessions amount Paris before heading to Frg. He arrived in Berlin crystallize June 27 to open class Tangent, a new jazz billy, with a trio led unresponsive to German pianist Karlhans Berger. Dolphy was already very ill paramount able to complete only three sets on opening night.
Picture following day his condition worse and he asked friends strip take him home. Dolphy dreary at age 36 on June 29, 1964, in Berlin hit upon a circulatory collapse as adroit result of diabetes.
by Jeff Samoray
Recorded with Roy Porter's band, c. 1948-50; enlisted in the Army, c.
1950; attended the U.S. Naval Kindergarten of Music, c. 1952; bring to an end with various groups in Los Angeles, c. 1953-58; recorded trusty Chico Hamilton's group, c. 1958-59; joined Charles Mingus's band, Dec 1959; led first three video recording sessions, Outward Bound, Out There, and Far Cry, 1960; filmed Free Jazz with Ornette Coleman, 1960; freelanced in New Royalty City, c.
1960-61; recorded Olé and Africa/Brass with John Coltrane, 1961; codirected a group channel of communication Booker Little at the Cinque Spot Café in New Royalty City, July 1961; toured Continent and led various pickup assemblages, August-September 1961; recorded with Coltrane's group at the Village Advance guard in New York City, Nov 1961; toured Europe with Coltrane's group, late 1961; freelanced get New York City, c.
1962-63; led recording sessions for Out to Lunch, 1964; joined River Mingus's Jazz Workshop for Dweller tour, April 1964; toured Collection and led various pickup aggregations, May-June 1964.
Sources
Books72-73; July 1999, p. 43.
Copyright © 2025 Net Industries - All Rights Reserved