Eric Dolphy: In Europe

Rating: ★★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Eric Dolphy (as, arr)
Jørn Elniff (d)
Erik Moseholm (b)
Chuck Israels (b)
Bent Axen (p)

Label:

EJC

June/2019

Media Format:

CD

Catalogue Number:

11412

RecordDate:

1961

Like many African-Americans Dolphy did significant work in Europe in the post-war years, and this 1961 Copenhagen session is of interest both to converts and newcomers alike. Though some of the innovative multi-reedist's best sessions were done in groups where he was part of a frontline of horns, as in the peerless quintet he jointly led with Booker Little, he could also be dazzlingly effective when he just had piano-bass-drums accompaniment. That is the case here, and for the most part the results are very good, with the local rhythm section proving to be up to the task on a repertoire that includes Broadway standards and anthems by Dolphy's peers, such as Randy Weston's ‘Hi-Fly’. The highlight though is a sublime version of Billie Holiday's ‘God Bless The Child’, which Dolphy plays solo on bass clarinet while the other musicians lay out. He uses a wavering arpeggio as a central new motif in the arrangement and embellishes the main theme with thrilling short runs. His articulation and variations of attack are simply astounding. Three years later the man held in high esteem by Coltrane et al would die in Berlin. This addition to his discography is another bittersweet reminder of the scale of that great loss to the world of music.

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