Eric Dolphy Music

This album was recorded live in Copenhagen in 1961. Hi Fly is a 13-minute duet with Eric on flute and Chuck Israels on bass. It has great consistency, considering the sparse lineup. The version of God Bless the Child here is Eric on solo bass clarinet, and I think it's generally considered to be his best recorded version (also check out Here & There, and The Illinois Concert for other versions). The other two album cuts are featuring 3 Danish musicians. They're not totally on Eric's wavelength on Glad to be Unhappy (flute)-- but Oleo is more in the hard bop vein they're used to, and it really cooks with eric on bass clarinet! Great album for any Dolphy fan, though I think you should get Live at the Five Spot vols. 1 & 2 and the Memorial Album first because those are his best live recordings.

This album was recorded live in Copenhagen in 1961. Hi Fly is a 13-minute duet with Eric on flute and Chuck Israels on bass. It has great consistency, considering the sparse lineup. The version of God Bless the Child here is Eric on solo bass clarinet, and I think it's generally considered to be his best recorded version (also check out Here & There, and The Illinois Concert for other versions). The other two album cuts are featuring 3 Danish musicians. They're not totally on Eric's wavelength on Glad to be Unhappy (flute)-- but Oleo is more in the hard bop vein they're used to, and it really cooks with eric on bass clarinet! Great album for any Dolphy fan, though I think you should get Live at the Five Spot vols. 1 & 2 and the Memorial Album first because those are his best live recordings.

The three volumes of "In Europe" capture Eric Dolphy on two nights in Copenhagen on September 6 & 8, 1961. Not being able to support a tour with a full-time band, Dolphy would appear as a featured soloist with various ad hoc groups. For these Prestige recordings, Dolphy is backed by an the all-Danish rhythm trio of Bent Axen on piano, Erik Mosenhohm on bass, and Jorn Elniff on drums. They provide only adequate support, and are the primary reason these sessions only receive three-star ratings. "Volume 2" finds Eric on alto sax for the album's two up-tempo numbers, the Dolphy original "Les" which first appeared on "Outward Bound," and the standard "The Way You Look Tonight." He switches instruments on the disc's two ballads -- to flute on "Don't Blame Me" (this disc adds an alternate performance of this song as a bonus track), and bass clarinet on "Laura." Although these recordings don't document Dolphy at his best, upon his return to the U.S. he would again make some of the music he is remembered for most -- he joined John Coltrane's band for the next six months, and was a major contributor on the landmark Village Vanguard recordings.

So the backup is not as strong as the Trane Village Vanguard recordings. I wouldn't care if Dolphy was in the alley with a bunch of guys banging trash cans, this is some great playing. Dolphy's playing at this point was so strong that it would have to fall a long way to come down from 5 stars. Buy these Europe recordings, the Five Spot and the Village Vanguard recordings. You can't buy just one. There are some people you just need to be deep in. Rahsaan, Trane, Dolphy, Bird, etc. Dig deep my friend.

The three volumes of "In Europe" capture Eric Dolphy on two nights in Copenhagen on September 6 & 8, 1961. Not being able to support a tour with a full-time band, Dolphy would appear as a featured soloist with various ad hoc groups. For these Prestige recordings, Dolphy is backed by an the all-Danish rhythm trio of Bent Axen on piano, Erik Mosenhohm on bass, and Jorn Elniff on drums. They provide only adequate support, and are the primary reason these sessions only receive three-star ratings. "Volume 2" finds Eric on alto sax for the album's two up-tempo numbers, the Dolphy original "Les" which first appeared on "Outward Bound," and the standard "The Way You Look Tonight." He switches instruments on the disc's two ballads -- to flute on "Don't Blame Me" (this disc adds an alternate performance of this song as a bonus track), and bass clarinet on "Laura." Although these recordings don't document Dolphy at his best, upon his return to the U.S. he would again make some of the music he is remembered for most -- he joined John Coltrane's band for the next six months, and was a major contributor on the landmark Village Vanguard recordings.

So the backup is not as strong as the Trane Village Vanguard recordings. I wouldn't care if Dolphy was in the alley with a bunch of guys banging trash cans, this is some great playing. Dolphy's playing at this point was so strong that it would have to fall a long way to come down from 5 stars. Buy these Europe recordings, the Five Spot and the Village Vanguard recordings. You can't buy just one. There are some people you just need to be deep in. Rahsaan, Trane, Dolphy, Bird, etc. Dig deep my friend.

The three volumes of "In Europe" capture Eric Dolphy on two nights in Copenhagen on September 6 & 8, 1961. Not being able to support a tour with a full-time band, Dolphy would appear as a featured soloist with various ad hoc groups. For these Prestige recordings, Dolphy is backed by an the all-Danish rhythm trio of Bent Axen on piano, Erik Mosenhohm on bass, and Jorn Elniff on drums. They provide only adequate support, and are the primary reason these sessions only receive three-star ratings. "Volume 2" finds Eric on alto sax for the album's two up-tempo numbers, the Dolphy original "Les" which first appeared on "Outward Bound," and the standard "The Way You Look Tonight." He switches instruments on the disc's two ballads -- to flute on "Don't Blame Me" (this disc adds an alternate performance of this song as a bonus track), and bass clarinet on "Laura." Although these recordings don't document Dolphy at his best, upon his return to the U.S. he would again make some of the music he is remembered for most -- he joined John Coltrane's band for the next six months, and was a major contributor on the landmark Village Vanguard recordings.

So the backup is not as strong as the Trane Village Vanguard recordings. I wouldn't care if Dolphy was in the alley with a bunch of guys banging trash cans, this is some great playing. Dolphy's playing at this point was so strong that it would have to fall a long way to come down from 5 stars. Buy these Europe recordings, the Five Spot and the Village Vanguard recordings. You can't buy just one. There are some people you just need to be deep in. Rahsaan, Trane, Dolphy, Bird, etc. Dig deep my friend.

The three volumes of "In Europe" capture Eric Dolphy during two nights in Copenhagen on September 6 & 8, 1961. Not being able to support a tour with a full-time band, Dolphy would appear as a featured soloist with various ad hoc groups. For these Prestige recordings, Dolphy is backed by an the all-Danish rhythm trio of Bent Axen on piano, Erik Mosenhohm on bass, and Jorn Elniff on drums. They provide only adequate support, and are the primary reason these sessions only receive three-star ratings. The reason why I said this recording was unnecessary in my review title is OJC could have very easily combined the three volumes of "In Europe" into a 2CD set. "Volume 3" only features three tunes -- "When Lights Are Low," Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody N' You," and the Dolphy original "In The Blues." When you consider that the 16-minute plus "In The Blues" is actually three takes of the same song, this disc is very short on "master" takes -- not even thirty minutes of music. If you compare that to the two volumes of Dolphy's best live recordings at the Five Spot Cafe (where each disc is over an hour long, not to mention the material and the band are better), you definitely aren't getting much value here. Although these recordings don't document Dolphy at his best, upon his return to the U.S. he would again make some of the music he is remembered for most -- he joined John Coltrane's band for the next six months, and was a major contributor on the landmark Village Vanguard recordings.

I don't know where someone comes off with only 3 stars for these Europe sets. This is some of the best Dolphy. I may have only 20 years worth of jazz listening and collecting with my mere 3,000 pieces of mostly jazz LP's and CD's, but I got to dig REAL DEEP to find anything this hot. Woody 'n You and Blues are real intense. Sure the Trane Village Vanguard is great, buy them too. Sure the Five Spot is great, buy them as well. But don't avoid these. It would be a big hole that is not easily filled.

The three volumes of "In Europe" capture Eric Dolphy during two nights in Copenhagen on September 6 & 8, 1961. Not being able to support a tour with a full-time band, Dolphy would appear as a featured soloist with various ad hoc groups. For these Prestige recordings, Dolphy is backed by an the all-Danish rhythm trio of Bent Axen on piano, Erik Mosenhohm on bass, and Jorn Elniff on drums. They provide only adequate support, and are the primary reason these sessions only receive three-star ratings. The reason why I said this recording was unnecessary in my review title is OJC could have very easily combined the three volumes of "In Europe" into a 2CD set. "Volume 3" only features three tunes -- "When Lights Are Low," Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody N' You," and the Dolphy original "In The Blues." When you consider that the 16-minute plus "In The Blues" is actually three takes of the same song, this disc is very short on "master" takes -- not even thirty minutes of music. If you compare that to the two volumes of Dolphy's best live recordings at the Five Spot Cafe (where each disc is over an hour long, not to mention the material and the band are better), you definitely aren't getting much value here. Although these recordings don't document Dolphy at his best, upon his return to the U.S. he would again make some of the music he is remembered for most -- he joined John Coltrane's band for the next six months, and was a major contributor on the landmark Village Vanguard recordings.

I don't know where someone comes off with only 3 stars for these Europe sets. This is some of the best Dolphy. I may have only 20 years worth of jazz listening and collecting with my mere 3,000 pieces of mostly jazz LP's and CD's, but I got to dig REAL DEEP to find anything this hot. Woody 'n You and Blues are real intense. Sure the Trane Village Vanguard is great, buy them too. Sure the Five Spot is great, buy them as well. But don't avoid these. It would be a big hole that is not easily filled.

The three volumes of "In Europe" capture Eric Dolphy during two nights in Copenhagen on September 6 & 8, 1961. Not being able to support a tour with a full-time band, Dolphy would appear as a featured soloist with various ad hoc groups. For these Prestige recordings, Dolphy is backed by an the all-Danish rhythm trio of Bent Axen on piano, Erik Mosenhohm on bass, and Jorn Elniff on drums. They provide only adequate support, and are the primary reason these sessions only receive three-star ratings. The reason why I said this recording was unnecessary in my review title is OJC could have very easily combined the three volumes of "In Europe" into a 2CD set. "Volume 3" only features three tunes -- "When Lights Are Low," Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody N' You," and the Dolphy original "In The Blues." When you consider that the 16-minute plus "In The Blues" is actually three takes of the same song, this disc is very short on "master" takes -- not even thirty minutes of music. If you compare that to the two volumes of Dolphy's best live recordings at the Five Spot Cafe (where each disc is over an hour long, not to mention the material and the band are better), you definitely aren't getting much value here. Although these recordings don't document Dolphy at his best, upon his return to the U.S. he would again make some of the music he is remembered for most -- he joined John Coltrane's band for the next six months, and was a major contributor on the landmark Village Vanguard recordings.

I don't know where someone comes off with only 3 stars for these Europe sets. This is some of the best Dolphy. I may have only 20 years worth of jazz listening and collecting with my mere 3,000 pieces of mostly jazz LP's and CD's, but I got to dig REAL DEEP to find anything this hot. Woody 'n You and Blues are real intense. Sure the Trane Village Vanguard is great, buy them too. Sure the Five Spot is great, buy them as well. But don't avoid these. It would be a big hole that is not easily filled.