Eric Dolphy
(1928-1964)



Outward Bound (Prestige/OJC, 1960)
Far Cry (Prestige/OJC, 1960)
Out There (Prestige/OJC, 1960)
Eric Dolphy In Europe (Prestige/OJC, 1961)
The Complete Prestige Recordings (9-CD-Box/OJC, 1960/1961)
Out To Lunch (Blue Note, 1964)

as Sideman:
Candid Dolphy (Candid, 1960/1, mit Charles Mingus, Max Roach und Booker Little)
Ron Carter: Where? (Prestige/OJC, 1961)
Charles Mingus: Reincarnation Of A Love Bird (Candid, 1960)
Charles Mingus: Mingus At Antibes (Atlantic, 1960)
Charles Mingus: Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse, 1963)
Charles Mingus: The Great Concert, Paris 1964 (Accord)
Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz (Atlantic, 1961)
John Coltrane: Ole' (Atlantic, 1961)
John Coltrane: Live At The Village Vanguard (Impulse, 1961)
John Coltrane: The Other Village Vanguard Tapes (Impulse, 1961)
John Coltrane: Africa/Brass (Impulse, 1961)

Without doubt, Eric Dolphy counts among the most important and influential musicians of modern jazz. While in the attention of the large public he was overshadowed by stars such as John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, his work is still admired by young musicians today for its non-compromising individuality. Dolphy was born in Los Angeles in 1928. His first professional experiences with Roy Porter's L.A. based band (1948-1950) are documented in record, though Dolphy is not heard as soloist. In the early 1950s Dolphy worked in Army bands, studied at the US Naval School of Music and played mostly with local bands in Los Angeles. In 1958 he joined drummer Chico Hamilton's quintet which featured an unusual instrumentation of reeds (Dolphy on alto, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet), cello, guitar, bass and drums. From 1959-1960 as well as in later years he was heard in the band of Charles Mingus who featured him extensively, but also led an own group with trumpeter Booker Little. Dolphy accompanied John Coltrane on a European tour in 1962. He died in Berlin, Germany, in 1964 due to a heart attack occasioned by diabetes. Dolphy was a virtuoso master on the alto saxophone and introduced the bass clarinet as an important solo instrument in jazz. He partook in several concerts and recording sessions with Gunther Schuller, John Lewis and the Orchestra U.S.A. who in the late 1950s and early 1960s wanted to join the worlds of jazz and classical in a music for which Schuller invented the term ''Third Stream''. His style of improvisation seemed especially fitting for combining contemporary composition and improvisation techniques.