The Eric Dolphy Memorial Statue at Syracuse New York. A bit more “Bronze Man” than “Iron Man”.
Last Date documentary: For a good overview of the life of this extraordinary musician, this is pretty good, although it takes a while to get going.
The Road to Out To Lunch
There are quite a few short clips of Eric Dolphy with the Chico Hamilton Quintet and it’s a rabbit hole well worth falling down, but we could easily end up with a show notes page just filled with youtube videos, which would never do. This track demonstrates the unique string-heavy sound of the Quintet, as well as having a terrific Dolphy solo that takes off like a rocket!
I couldn’t resist this clip though. This is what people did before air conditioning, kids!
“Out There” is worth a mention as well, firstly because it has Dolphy as a leader and he’s chosen to have Ron Carter play the Cello on it, secondly because it was one of the first things of Dolphy’s that Gav heard over his car radio one night when John Peel signed off with it…..
…and we have to talk about Iron Man as well. Recorded a little earlier than Out To Lunch, but not released until 1968, it can be seen as a kind of strange companion piece to Out To Lunch. If you’re looking for this, all the recorded material has been grouped together as “Eric Dolphy - Musical Prophet”.
This is the Mingus band in Stockholm, April 1964 and it’s a rehearsal/soundcheck for the concert that was filmed in it’s entirety which can also be found on Youtube. I’ve set the video to the moment where Danny Richmond plays a drum solo that went viral recently as the greatest drum solo of all time, but Richmond’s reaction to the electrifying Eric Dolphy solo after him is every bit as special. There’s lots of film from the Mingus band tour of Europe, but this one is very well produced and it’s worth seeking out the entire show.
…So who was Gazzelloni?
What did Miles Davis think of Eric Dolphy (and Cecil Taylor)?
That's got to be Eric Dolphy - nobody else could sound that bad! The next time I see him I'm going to step on his foot. You print that. I think he's ridiculous. He's a sad motherfucker.
Blindfold Test Miles Davis in Down Beat June 1964.
Interesting that much later, Miles chose a Bass Clarinet for the band that made Bitches Brew.
The Children of Out To Lunch.
The impact of Out To Lunch cannot be denied, however. Here is the chilling moment where the album turns up in the wreckage of the police assassination of Fred Hampton.
On a happier note, I think Dolphy would have loved this spirited rendering of “Hat & Beard” by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, complete with bouncing ping-pong balls!
Finally, if we’re going out to lunch, do you fancy noodles?
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