Eric Dolphy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eric Dolphy
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. |
| Born | June 20, 1928 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Died | June 29, 1964 (aged 36) Berlin, Germany |
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| Years active | 1949–1964 |
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| Education | Los Angeles City College |
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (born June 20, 1928 – died June 29, 1964) was an American jazz musician. He was famous for playing the alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute. Sometimes, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Eric Dolphy was one of the first important jazz musicians to play the bass clarinet. He also helped make the flute a popular solo instrument in jazz.
Dolphy's music was very unique. He used wide musical jumps and special sounds to make his instruments sound like human voices or animals. His melodies were often "angular," meaning they moved in sharp, unexpected ways. Even though some people called his music "free jazz" (a style with fewer rules), his songs and solos were often based on traditional jazz ideas, but in a very creative way.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Journey
Eric Dolphy grew up in Los Angeles, California. His parents, Sadie and Eric Dolphy Sr., came from Panama. Eric started learning music at age six. He took private lessons for the clarinet and saxophone.
When he was in junior high, he began studying the oboe. He even got a scholarship to study music at the University of Southern California. At 13, he won an award for his clarinet playing. He continued his music studies at Susan Miller Dorsey High School. By 1946, he was helping lead the Youth Choir at a church.
After graduating in 1947, he went to Los Angeles City College. During this time, he played classical music and performed with a band called Roy Porter's 17 Beboppers. He made eight recordings with them by 1949. In these early recordings, he sometimes played the baritone saxophone, as well as alto saxophone, flute, and soprano clarinet.
In 1950, Dolphy joined the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Washington state. In 1952, he attended the Navy School of Music. After leaving the army in 1953, he returned to Los Angeles. He played with many musicians there, including Buddy Collette. His father even built a studio in their backyard for him to practice and jam with friends.
A Rising Star in Jazz
Eric Dolphy got his big break in 1958 when he joined Chico Hamilton's band. This group helped him become known to more people. He toured a lot in 1958 and 1959. He even appeared in the film Jazz on a Summer's Day, playing the flute at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
After leaving Hamilton's group, he moved to New York City.
Working with Other Jazz Greats
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus was a famous bassist and bandleader who knew Dolphy from their time growing up in Los Angeles. Dolphy joined Mingus's Jazz Workshop in 1960. He played on Mingus's big band album Pre-Bird. Later, he joined Mingus's touring band. They recorded two albums together: Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus and Mingus at Antibes.
Mingus greatly admired Dolphy. He said Dolphy "was a complete musician." He could play in any group and was "entirely his own man" when he played solos. Mingus added that Dolphy had "mastered all the instruments he played."
Dolphy left Mingus's band in 1961 to go to Europe. He recorded several albums there, including The Berlin Concerts. He later rejoined Mingus's band in 1963 and again in 1964 for a European tour. These tours were recorded on albums like The Great Concert of Charles Mingus.
John Coltrane
Dolphy and John Coltrane were friends and musicians who learned from each other. They had known each other since 1954. In early 1961, Coltrane asked Dolphy to join his band. Coltrane was already famous, but his new music with Dolphy was very different. Some critics even called their music "anti-jazz."
Coltrane later said this criticism hurt Dolphy. He explained that they were trying new things and that Dolphy helped him explore music more freely. Many of their live performances were recorded, including the famous The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings.
Booker Little
Trumpeter Booker Little and Eric Dolphy also played together for a short time. Dolphy played on Little's album Out Front. Dolphy's own album Far Cry also featured Little.
They also led a band together at a club called the Five Spot in 1961. These performances were recorded and released as At the Five Spot. Sadly, Booker Little passed away at only 23 years old in October 1961.
Other Collaborations
Dolphy also played on important recordings with other jazz artists. These included George Russell (on Ezz-thetics), Oliver Nelson (on The Blues and the Abstract Truth), and Ornette Coleman (on Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation). He also worked with Gunther Schuller and Ron Carter.
Leading His Own Bands
Eric Dolphy began recording his own music with Prestige Records. He made 13 albums with them between 1960 and 1961.
His first two albums as a leader were Outward Bound and Out There. Outward Bound was more like traditional jazz, while Out There explored a style called "third stream" music, which mixes jazz with classical music. On Out There, Dolphy played the rare soprano clarinet on one song.
Dolphy was one of the first jazz musicians to record unaccompanied saxophone solos. He played famous songs like "Tenderly" and "God Bless the Child" by himself on the alto saxophone.
He was also very interested in 20th-century classical music. He listened to composers like Stravinsky and Bartók. He even performed a classical piece for solo flute called Density 21.5 by Edgard Varèse.
In 1963, Dolphy recorded the albums Iron Man and Conversations. These albums featured young musicians like Bobby Hutcherson. They also included special duets between Dolphy and bassist Richard Davis.
In 1964, Dolphy signed with Blue Note Records. He recorded his most famous album, Out to Lunch!, with a group of talented musicians including Freddie Hubbard and Tony Williams. This album is considered his greatest work. It showed his unique style, which was both avant-garde (very new and experimental) and still connected to jazz traditions.
Moving to Europe
After Out to Lunch!, Eric Dolphy went to Europe with Charles Mingus's band in early 1964. Before a concert in Norway, he told Mingus he would stay in Europe. He felt that the United States wasn't always open to musicians trying new things. Mingus then named a song they played "So Long Eric." Dolphy planned to live in Europe with his fiancée, Joyce Mordecai, who was a dancer in Paris.
After leaving Mingus, he played and recorded with European bands and American musicians living in Paris. His album Last Date was recorded during a radio broadcast in the Netherlands.
Personal Life and Legacy
Eric Dolphy was engaged to Joyce Mordecai, a dancer from Paris. Before he left for Europe in 1964, he left his papers with friends. In 2014, six boxes of his music papers were given to the Library of Congress.
On June 27, 1964, Dolphy traveled to Berlin to play a concert. He was very ill when he arrived and could barely play. He was hospitalized that night. On June 29, Eric Dolphy passed away. It is believed he had undiagnosed diabetes and fell into a coma.
He was buried in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. His headstone says, "He Lives In His Music."
Influence on Jazz Music
Eric Dolphy had a huge impact on other jazz musicians. John Coltrane said that knowing Dolphy made his own life and music much better. He said Dolphy helped him play "freer" and try new things. After Dolphy passed away, his mother gave Coltrane his flute and bass clarinet. Coltrane then played these instruments on some of his own recordings.
Music experts like Eric Nisenson noted that Dolphy's style made Coltrane's solos more daring. Coltrane started using wider musical jumps and different sounds, just like Dolphy.
Many young jazz musicians were also influenced by Dolphy. He often hired talented young players for his bands, including Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, and Tony Williams. These musicians later became very famous, especially as part of Miles Davis's band. Even though Miles Davis was sometimes critical of Dolphy's music, his new band was strongly influenced by Dolphy's ideas.
Dolphy's amazing skill and unique, emotional jazz style influenced many other musicians. These included Anthony Braxton, members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Don Byron.
Awards and Tributes
Eric Dolphy was honored after his death. In 1964, he was added to the DownBeat magazine Hall of Fame.
Many artists have paid tribute to him:
- Frank Zappa mentioned Dolphy as an influence and named a song "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue."
- Pianist Geri Allen studied Dolphy's music and wrote a song called "Dolphy's Dance."
- In 1997, the Vienna Art Orchestra released an album honoring him.
- In 2003, for what would have been his 75th birthday, a concert was held in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors even named June 20 as Eric Dolphy Day.
- In 2014, 50 years after his death, many tribute concerts and festivals were held around the world.
- Many musicians have recorded tribute albums inspired by Dolphy's compositions.
A documentary film about Dolphy called Last Date was released in 1991. It included clips of his performances and interviews with musicians who knew him.
Discography
Lifetime releases ( – June 1963)
- 1960: Outward Bound (New Jazz, 1960)
- 1960: Caribé with The Latin Jazz Quintet (New Jazz, 1961)
- 1960: Out There (New Jazz, 1961)
- 1960: Far Cry (New Jazz, 1962)
- 1961: At the Five Spot, Vol. 1 (New Jazz, 1961) – live
- 1961: At the Five Spot, Vol. 2 (Prestige, 1963) – live
- 1963: Conversations (FM, 1963) – also released as Music Matador (Affinity)
Posthumous releases (July 1963 – )
- 1959–60: Hot & Cool Latin (Blue Moon, 1996)
- 1960–61: Candid Dolphy (Candid, 1989) – alternate takes from sessions as a sideman
- 1960–61: Fire Waltz (Prestige, 1978)[2LP] – reissue of Ken McIntyre's Looking Ahead (New Jazz, 1961) and Mal Waldron's The Quest (New Jazz, 1962)
- 1960–61: Dash One (Prestige, 1982) – out-takes & previously unissued
- 1961: Memorial Album: Recorded Live At the Five Spot (Prestige, 1965) – live
- 1961: The Berlin Concerts (enja, 1978) – live
- 1961: The Complete Uppsala Concert (Jazz Door, 1993) – initially unofficial
- 1960–61: Here and There (Prestige, 1966) – live
- 1961: Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 1 (Prestige, 1964) – live
- 1961: Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 2 (Prestige, 1965) – live
- 1961: Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 3 (Prestige, 1965) – live. also released as Copenhagen Concert with Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 1.
- 1961: Stockholm Sessions (Enja, 1981)
- 1961: 1961 (Jazz Connoisseur, ?) – live in Munich. also released as Live in Germany (Stash); Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise (Natasha Imports); Munich Jam Session December 1, 1961 (RLR).
- 1962: Eric Dolphy Quintet featuring Herbie Hancock: Complete Recordings (Lone Hill Jazz, 2004) – also released as Live In New York (Stash); Left Alone (Absord); Gaslight 1962 (Get Back)
- 1963: The Illinois Concert (Blue Note, 1999) – live
- 1962–63: Vintage Dolphy (GM Recordings/enja, 1986) – live
- 1963: Iron Man (Douglas International, 1968) – both Conversations and Iron Man were released as Jitterbug Waltz (Douglas , 1976)[2LP]; Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (Resonance, 2019)[3CD].
- 1964: Out to Lunch! (Blue Note, 1964)
- 1964: Last Date (Fontana, 1964) – for radio program at Hilversum
- 1964: Naima (Jazzway/West Wind, 1988) – for ORTF radio program at Paris
- Compilation: Unrealized Tapes (West Wind) – recorded in 1964 for ORTF radio program at Paris. also released as Last Recordings and The Complete Last Recordings In Hilversum & Paris 1964 (Domino).
- Compilation: Other Aspects (Blue Note, 1987) – recorded in 1960 & 64
As sideman
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With Ornette Coleman
With John Coltrane
With Chico Hamilton
With John Lewis
With Charles Mingus
With Oliver Nelson
With Orchestra U.S.A.
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With others
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See also
In Spanish: Eric Dolphy para niños
