Eric Dolphy-Early Recordings

I have been investigating those old Chico Hamilton albums with Eric Dolphy – via the exceptionally cheap Enlightenment five CD sets (so far, “Chico Hamilton: The Complete Recordings 1959 – 1962). In addition to most of the Hamilton/Dolphy albums, they also have most of the sides with Charles Lloyd, some of which I really like. The sound is decent and I think they’re a good way to hear things that would be too expensive to get or too hard to find otherwise.

The Dolphy tracks are interesting. Quite a lot of his playing on these albums is from written parts, at the level of a studio sideman, and they make clear his beautiful tone and expressiveness on all three instruments. When he does have the opportunity to solo, I think all of the Dolphy characteristic traits are already in evidence – incredible facility with rapid multi-note lines, creative choice of notes, microtonal pitches, use of the highest register, etc. Hamilton is to be commended for helping to develop this unique talent.

Chico is an interesting drummer. At times he is barely heard in the mix, leaving the drive to a strong bass player, and providing color and creative solos. Some of these solos, when immediately following or preceding a Dolphy solo, suggested to me that the two men shared a similar rhythmic feeling that seemed to anticipate the beat and provide an exceptional propulsive energy and drive. Maybe this is a fantasy on my part, but raise the possibility that Hamilton may have had some influence on the development of Dolphy’s style (?)

When I have seen photos of Hamilton, I always used to think that he either had a miniature drum set or was a giant among men. Recently I saw, in an article from one of those Drummer Magazines, that he actually didn’t use a conventional bass drum but a tom-tom laid on its side in a special clamp – aha!

Yes, it is a startling contrast between Eric and Buddy Collette, and other musicians of the time. We wonder, where did his conception of music come from?

I think you might enjoy the book "Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography and Discography" by Vladimir Simosko. I have the 1979 Da Capo edition co-written with Barry Tepperman and already it has a 27 page discography. I think later editions are available from Amazon.com.

It has a good description of Eric's early musical development and possible influences; also much about his life and some nice pictures.

December 21, 1960 was a busy day for Eric Dolphy. That day he participated in the recording of Ornette Coleman’s FREE JAZZ (Atlantic SD 1364) at A&R Studios in New York City and then had to get over to Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey studio to record FAR CRY (New Jazz NJ 8270) with Booker Little, Jaki Byard, Ron Carter and Roy Haynes. With Byard’s “Miss Parker of K.C.” and “Ode to Charlie Parker” and Dolphy’s “Far Cry,” the first side is a tribute to Bird, whose influence also clearly inspired Dophy’s classic “Miss Ann,” the first track on Side 2.



Musician and teacher Ron Drotos has written: “As you’ll see when you play through “Miss Ann,” it’s not your average Real Book tune.  Dolphy... was stretching the limits of jazz’s harmonic language, and this is evident in “Miss Ann.” Although the melody might sound “wrong” at first, play it a few times every day for a week, and listen to Dolphy’s recordings of the tune. Your ear will gradually begin to hear it’s internal logic and expressivity……My college composition teacher, Hale Smith, had been good friends with Dolphy and actually taught Dolphy out of the German composer Paul Hindemith’s classic book, “Elementary Training For Musicians.” The irony of the book’s title is that it’s one of the most challenging music books ever written! Many of Hindemith’s musical exercises involve playing a chord on piano and singing an unrelated scale at the same time. To try this for yourself, go to the piano and play a C major triad. Now, with the C chord still ringing, sing an Ab major scale. It’s not so easy, is it??? No, but that’s exactly what Eric Dolphy spent hours doing, until his musical ear had developed to the point where he could easily hear these harmonic superimpositions with his inner ear. Then they could naturally come out through his alto sax when he played jazz... The melody to “Miss Ann” isn’t actually as “outside” as it seems at first. Many of the notes are upper extensions or alterations of the chords and are derived from altered scales and such.”


A transcription of Dolphy’s solo can be found at the Berkeley archive:


dsf.berkeley.edu/jmh/music/missann.html


The tune is among those in Leonard Feather's classic "Omnibus of Jazz," billed as "200 of the World's Greatest Jazz Themes." (Hansen House, 1974).

I have always marvelled at Dolphy's ability to fit in perfectly with almost any given surrounding, no matter how progressive or (mildly) conservative. The answer is he was a consummate musician who knew no technical limits. He could play whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, and even his wildest harmonic adventures sounded logical. For all his emotional qualities, he - like Charlie Parker - always knew exactly what he was doing. So, among all the other things, it's the sheer perfection of his playing that I admire.

I also did two phone interviews with Chico Hamilton for Hot House features, one around 2005 or 2006 and another 3 or 4 years later. I'd have to go back and listen to them to remember if anything was discussed about the period that Eric Dolphy worked with him.