Eric Dolphy Music

This cd is just amazing! I mean Eric Dolphy was just so cutting edge, and not locked into the bebop genre,but went beyond the pail of the conventional.I find this music to be exciting, firey, and fresh.Booker little was just as amazing, with his tone,and haunting sound,while using dissonance as a tool for great improvisation. A must get for the Eric dolphy fan!!!

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, and worthy almost only because of that.

The Five Spot itself has a long tradition of hosting incredible names in music. The ambiance as i am sure we all could imagine was quite amazing to inspire the musicians it did as it did. But the fact of the matter remains that the recording acoustics of the venue were not as good as the actual place itself. Consequently some of the recordings didn't turn out as good that are from there. Anyone truly interested in music will just glance at this fact briefly and move along to buying the album. That is exatly what I did! Thanks to the insight however on Mal Waldron's accompanyment. That was very useful information.

also: I own and have heard several Five Spot albums, and some of them are of lesser quality, but the music sreams for attention! One of these is John Coltrane Live at the Five Spot, a tricky one to find and the recording quality is awful but is worth it in every way.

One of the finest albums of bebop Jazz. Encapsulates the excitement of a live performance. A good representation of the genius of Dolphy.
A winner.

From the first minute of the album I was hooked. Eric Dolphy is probably my favorite altoist at the moment, and always one of my top 5 saxophonists, and he is in brilliant form here. His tone is crisp, his lines as fiery and sharp as ever, and he has a wonderful rapport with his supporting cast. Dolphy makes the album worth it by himself.

Fortunately, with this supporting cast, he doesn't need to do it all by himself. Credit must be given to Eddie Blackwell on drums, bassist Richard Davis, and pianist Mal Waldron. Blackwell came of age with Ornette Coleman, and jazz has rarely seen a more underappreciated drummer. While not as flamboyant or extroverted as the other leading drummers of the 60's (Tony Williams and Elvin Jones comes to mind) Blackwell has a kind of light subtlety that other drummers lack...he is free and inventive with his time, and defines the word "crisp." Richard Davis of course was one of the foremost bassists of the era, and Mal Waldron shines not only as a logical, thoughtful soloist on piano but a solid composer, contributing the magnificent "Fire Waltz."

And Booker Little? Jazz is full of stories of men dying before their time: Clifford Brown, Albert Ayler, Fats Navarro, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy himself, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. Put Booker on that list, near the top. The amount of recordings this brilliant trumpeter left for us is small, but worth every minute of it. If he had lived longer, he would have become the leading trumpet of the times, the biggest since Clifford Brown (in my opinion.) Some readers my differ on that, but the mere fact that I am asserting such a claim shows what a tremendous talent Little was. Nothing more needs to be said about him.

This album might be thought by some curious Amazon customers as avant-garde, but it is hardly that. I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a straight-ahead album led by 5 non-straight-ahead jazz players...especially Dolphy. Thus it is not WHAT the band plays that makes At the Five Spot so compelling, but rather HOW they play it. The format and style hews closely to the bop tradition, but it is if anything more explosive, time is much more free, and the soloists aren't just running changes, they are using the FULL capacity of their instrument, using any note available, any sound, any kind of rhythm...giving bebop the makeover that it needed.

Anyone interested in Dolphy needs to check this out...anyone interested in 60's jazz needs to as well. I disagree with the afore-mentioned reviewer in that this IS essential Dolphy. The creativty on this album, both as soloists and a collective ensemble is first class. Hear it to understand what I'm talking about. Hell, give this one 6 stars.

This cd is just amazing! I mean Eric Dolphy was just so cutting edge, and not locked into the bebop genre,but went beyond the pail of the conventional.I find this music to be exciting, firey, and fresh.Booker little was just as amazing, with his tone,and haunting sound,while using dissonance as a tool for great improvisation. A must get for the Eric dolphy fan!!!

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, and worthy almost only because of that.

The Five Spot itself has a long tradition of hosting incredible names in music. The ambiance as i am sure we all could imagine was quite amazing to inspire the musicians it did as it did. But the fact of the matter remains that the recording acoustics of the venue were not as good as the actual place itself. Consequently some of the recordings didn't turn out as good that are from there. Anyone truly interested in music will just glance at this fact briefly and move along to buying the album. That is exatly what I did! Thanks to the insight however on Mal Waldron's accompanyment. That was very useful information.

also: I own and have heard several Five Spot albums, and some of them are of lesser quality, but the music sreams for attention! One of these is John Coltrane Live at the Five Spot, a tricky one to find and the recording quality is awful but is worth it in every way.

One of the finest albums of bebop Jazz. Encapsulates the excitement of a live performance. A good representation of the genius of Dolphy.
A winner.

From the first minute of the album I was hooked. Eric Dolphy is probably my favorite altoist at the moment, and always one of my top 5 saxophonists, and he is in brilliant form here. His tone is crisp, his lines as fiery and sharp as ever, and he has a wonderful rapport with his supporting cast. Dolphy makes the album worth it by himself.

Fortunately, with this supporting cast, he doesn't need to do it all by himself. Credit must be given to Eddie Blackwell on drums, bassist Richard Davis, and pianist Mal Waldron. Blackwell came of age with Ornette Coleman, and jazz has rarely seen a more underappreciated drummer. While not as flamboyant or extroverted as the other leading drummers of the 60's (Tony Williams and Elvin Jones comes to mind) Blackwell has a kind of light subtlety that other drummers lack...he is free and inventive with his time, and defines the word "crisp." Richard Davis of course was one of the foremost bassists of the era, and Mal Waldron shines not only as a logical, thoughtful soloist on piano but a solid composer, contributing the magnificent "Fire Waltz."

And Booker Little? Jazz is full of stories of men dying before their time: Clifford Brown, Albert Ayler, Fats Navarro, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy himself, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. Put Booker on that list, near the top. The amount of recordings this brilliant trumpeter left for us is small, but worth every minute of it. If he had lived longer, he would have become the leading trumpet of the times, the biggest since Clifford Brown (in my opinion.) Some readers my differ on that, but the mere fact that I am asserting such a claim shows what a tremendous talent Little was. Nothing more needs to be said about him.

This album might be thought by some curious Amazon customers as avant-garde, but it is hardly that. I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a straight-ahead album led by 5 non-straight-ahead jazz players...especially Dolphy. Thus it is not WHAT the band plays that makes At the Five Spot so compelling, but rather HOW they play it. The format and style hews closely to the bop tradition, but it is if anything more explosive, time is much more free, and the soloists aren't just running changes, they are using the FULL capacity of their instrument, using any note available, any sound, any kind of rhythm...giving bebop the makeover that it needed.

Anyone interested in Dolphy needs to check this out...anyone interested in 60's jazz needs to as well. I disagree with the afore-mentioned reviewer in that this IS essential Dolphy. The creativty on this album, both as soloists and a collective ensemble is first class. Hear it to understand what I'm talking about. Hell, give this one 6 stars.

This cd is just amazing! I mean Eric Dolphy was just so cutting edge, and not locked into the bebop genre,but went beyond the pail of the conventional.I find this music to be exciting, firey, and fresh.Booker little was just as amazing, with his tone,and haunting sound,while using dissonance as a tool for great improvisation. A must get for the Eric dolphy fan!!!

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, and worthy almost only because of that.

The Five Spot itself has a long tradition of hosting incredible names in music. The ambiance as i am sure we all could imagine was quite amazing to inspire the musicians it did as it did. But the fact of the matter remains that the recording acoustics of the venue were not as good as the actual place itself. Consequently some of the recordings didn't turn out as good that are from there. Anyone truly interested in music will just glance at this fact briefly and move along to buying the album. That is exatly what I did! Thanks to the insight however on Mal Waldron's accompanyment. That was very useful information.

also: I own and have heard several Five Spot albums, and some of them are of lesser quality, but the music sreams for attention! One of these is John Coltrane Live at the Five Spot, a tricky one to find and the recording quality is awful but is worth it in every way.

One of the finest albums of bebop Jazz. Encapsulates the excitement of a live performance. A good representation of the genius of Dolphy.
A winner.

From the first minute of the album I was hooked. Eric Dolphy is probably my favorite altoist at the moment, and always one of my top 5 saxophonists, and he is in brilliant form here. His tone is crisp, his lines as fiery and sharp as ever, and he has a wonderful rapport with his supporting cast. Dolphy makes the album worth it by himself.

Fortunately, with this supporting cast, he doesn't need to do it all by himself. Credit must be given to Eddie Blackwell on drums, bassist Richard Davis, and pianist Mal Waldron. Blackwell came of age with Ornette Coleman, and jazz has rarely seen a more underappreciated drummer. While not as flamboyant or extroverted as the other leading drummers of the 60's (Tony Williams and Elvin Jones comes to mind) Blackwell has a kind of light subtlety that other drummers lack...he is free and inventive with his time, and defines the word "crisp." Richard Davis of course was one of the foremost bassists of the era, and Mal Waldron shines not only as a logical, thoughtful soloist on piano but a solid composer, contributing the magnificent "Fire Waltz."

And Booker Little? Jazz is full of stories of men dying before their time: Clifford Brown, Albert Ayler, Fats Navarro, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy himself, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. Put Booker on that list, near the top. The amount of recordings this brilliant trumpeter left for us is small, but worth every minute of it. If he had lived longer, he would have become the leading trumpet of the times, the biggest since Clifford Brown (in my opinion.) Some readers my differ on that, but the mere fact that I am asserting such a claim shows what a tremendous talent Little was. Nothing more needs to be said about him.

This album might be thought by some curious Amazon customers as avant-garde, but it is hardly that. I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a straight-ahead album led by 5 non-straight-ahead jazz players...especially Dolphy. Thus it is not WHAT the band plays that makes At the Five Spot so compelling, but rather HOW they play it. The format and style hews closely to the bop tradition, but it is if anything more explosive, time is much more free, and the soloists aren't just running changes, they are using the FULL capacity of their instrument, using any note available, any sound, any kind of rhythm...giving bebop the makeover that it needed.

Anyone interested in Dolphy needs to check this out...anyone interested in 60's jazz needs to as well. I disagree with the afore-mentioned reviewer in that this IS essential Dolphy. The creativty on this album, both as soloists and a collective ensemble is first class. Hear it to understand what I'm talking about. Hell, give this one 6 stars.

This cd is just amazing! I mean Eric Dolphy was just so cutting edge, and not locked into the bebop genre,but went beyond the pail of the conventional.I find this music to be exciting, firey, and fresh.Booker little was just as amazing, with his tone,and haunting sound,while using dissonance as a tool for great improvisation. A must get for the Eric dolphy fan!!!

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, and worthy almost only because of that.

The Five Spot itself has a long tradition of hosting incredible names in music. The ambiance as i am sure we all could imagine was quite amazing to inspire the musicians it did as it did. But the fact of the matter remains that the recording acoustics of the venue were not as good as the actual place itself. Consequently some of the recordings didn't turn out as good that are from there. Anyone truly interested in music will just glance at this fact briefly and move along to buying the album. That is exatly what I did! Thanks to the insight however on Mal Waldron's accompanyment. That was very useful information.

also: I own and have heard several Five Spot albums, and some of them are of lesser quality, but the music sreams for attention! One of these is John Coltrane Live at the Five Spot, a tricky one to find and the recording quality is awful but is worth it in every way.

One of the finest albums of bebop Jazz. Encapsulates the excitement of a live performance. A good representation of the genius of Dolphy.
A winner.

From the first minute of the album I was hooked. Eric Dolphy is probably my favorite altoist at the moment, and always one of my top 5 saxophonists, and he is in brilliant form here. His tone is crisp, his lines as fiery and sharp as ever, and he has a wonderful rapport with his supporting cast. Dolphy makes the album worth it by himself.

Fortunately, with this supporting cast, he doesn't need to do it all by himself. Credit must be given to Eddie Blackwell on drums, bassist Richard Davis, and pianist Mal Waldron. Blackwell came of age with Ornette Coleman, and jazz has rarely seen a more underappreciated drummer. While not as flamboyant or extroverted as the other leading drummers of the 60's (Tony Williams and Elvin Jones comes to mind) Blackwell has a kind of light subtlety that other drummers lack...he is free and inventive with his time, and defines the word "crisp." Richard Davis of course was one of the foremost bassists of the era, and Mal Waldron shines not only as a logical, thoughtful soloist on piano but a solid composer, contributing the magnificent "Fire Waltz."

And Booker Little? Jazz is full of stories of men dying before their time: Clifford Brown, Albert Ayler, Fats Navarro, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy himself, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. Put Booker on that list, near the top. The amount of recordings this brilliant trumpeter left for us is small, but worth every minute of it. If he had lived longer, he would have become the leading trumpet of the times, the biggest since Clifford Brown (in my opinion.) Some readers my differ on that, but the mere fact that I am asserting such a claim shows what a tremendous talent Little was. Nothing more needs to be said about him.

This album might be thought by some curious Amazon customers as avant-garde, but it is hardly that. I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a straight-ahead album led by 5 non-straight-ahead jazz players...especially Dolphy. Thus it is not WHAT the band plays that makes At the Five Spot so compelling, but rather HOW they play it. The format and style hews closely to the bop tradition, but it is if anything more explosive, time is much more free, and the soloists aren't just running changes, they are using the FULL capacity of their instrument, using any note available, any sound, any kind of rhythm...giving bebop the makeover that it needed.

Anyone interested in Dolphy needs to check this out...anyone interested in 60's jazz needs to as well. I disagree with the afore-mentioned reviewer in that this IS essential Dolphy. The creativty on this album, both as soloists and a collective ensemble is first class. Hear it to understand what I'm talking about. Hell, give this one 6 stars.

I can only say wow!! I would encourage you to get this pt2 of a wonderful concert date. please don't be afraid to get this due to the number of tracks. I would have gotten this one for "like someone in love" by itself. what an awesome cd.

I bought this back in 1978, when I was 16, and it still remains one of my favorite disks, even over "Out To Lunch" or "Berlin Concerts". Dolphy's bass clarinet is a revelation-- I can't add much to the other reviewers, they are spot on, but I will say that he can wring some amazing emotions out of the unwieldy beast. He can go from sweetly lyrical to jarringly paranoid in only a few bars.

This is a great CD. Aggression is 16 minutes long and has great soloing from everyone. Richard Davis' walking bass solo is so fast it's amazing. Like Someone in Love is nearly 20 minutes long and some of the most expressive jazz I've heard. Eric's flute is contrasted beautifully with Booker's trumpet. Only two songs, you say? Yeah, but each song is an improvised symphony in terms of emotional content. Get this CD and feel the music!

This is good but having the selections (without the alternate takes) from the two volumes on one disc would have been better.

This cd is the second of three that chronicles Eric Dolphy's legendary concert recorded in 1961 at New york's Five Spot cafe. Dolphy' clarinet and flute lead Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass, Eddie Blackwell on drums, and the near forgotten trumpet great Booker Little. If the fact this disc only has two tracks makes you hesitant to buy it, fear not both tracks are deep and reward multiple listenings. Little's "Aggression" opens the disc, and is exceptional because it is one of the few times on record when Dolphy does not outshine the other soloists. Little takes the first solo, and simply burns. His brilliant faculty and fertile imagination are on full display as he manages to wrend sounds and effects rarely hear from a trumpet, all the while keeping his musical acrobatics logical and his tone clear and bright. Dolphy follows with his distinctive bass clarinet. His solos on the seemingly awkward solo instrument are always among his most inventive and interesting. Keeping with this standard Dolphy dives into a burbling squealing exploration of the instrument's lower register. Waldron follows with a solo seemingly sparked by Dolphy and Little. His left hand laying down block chords under his nimble right hand runs. Richard Davis shows off his awesome technique by performing one of the clearest, most flawless, uptempo bass solos I have ever heard. Eddie Blackwell finishes the soloing with an extended rapid fire burst of tight snare rolls and bombed out tom fills. Easily one of the highlights of the entire live set. Dolphy switches to his flute for the second and last of the disc's extended works, the slower and somewhat more convetional standard, "Like Someone In Love". For his solo, Dolphy ranges from puckish to lyrical to more avante garde overblowing and and percussive tone exploration. Little adopts a more melancholy laidback tone and constructs a soulful, lyrical solo. Waldron swings into a laidback blues flavored solo colored by switches in tempo in its second half. Davis has another dexterous, expressive solo he truly is one of the masters of the jazz bass solo. This music is not only important as a document of one of Jazz's greatest live performances, but because both Little and Dolphy would pass away within the next three years, Little three months after this date at 23. I recommend buying vol. 1 first, this cd and the final collection "Memorial Album" last, but the music stands alone and sounds fresh almost fourty years later. Highly recommened music.

I can only say wow!! I would encourage you to get this pt2 of a wonderful concert date. please don't be afraid to get this due to the number of tracks. I would have gotten this one for "like someone in love" by itself. what an awesome cd.

I bought this back in 1978, when I was 16, and it still remains one of my favorite disks, even over "Out To Lunch" or "Berlin Concerts". Dolphy's bass clarinet is a revelation-- I can't add much to the other reviewers, they are spot on, but I will say that he can wring some amazing emotions out of the unwieldy beast. He can go from sweetly lyrical to jarringly paranoid in only a few bars.

This is a great CD. Aggression is 16 minutes long and has great soloing from everyone. Richard Davis' walking bass solo is so fast it's amazing. Like Someone in Love is nearly 20 minutes long and some of the most expressive jazz I've heard. Eric's flute is contrasted beautifully with Booker's trumpet. Only two songs, you say? Yeah, but each song is an improvised symphony in terms of emotional content. Get this CD and feel the music!

This is good but having the selections (without the alternate takes) from the two volumes on one disc would have been better.

This cd is the second of three that chronicles Eric Dolphy's legendary concert recorded in 1961 at New york's Five Spot cafe. Dolphy' clarinet and flute lead Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass, Eddie Blackwell on drums, and the near forgotten trumpet great Booker Little. If the fact this disc only has two tracks makes you hesitant to buy it, fear not both tracks are deep and reward multiple listenings. Little's "Aggression" opens the disc, and is exceptional because it is one of the few times on record when Dolphy does not outshine the other soloists. Little takes the first solo, and simply burns. His brilliant faculty and fertile imagination are on full display as he manages to wrend sounds and effects rarely hear from a trumpet, all the while keeping his musical acrobatics logical and his tone clear and bright. Dolphy follows with his distinctive bass clarinet. His solos on the seemingly awkward solo instrument are always among his most inventive and interesting. Keeping with this standard Dolphy dives into a burbling squealing exploration of the instrument's lower register. Waldron follows with a solo seemingly sparked by Dolphy and Little. His left hand laying down block chords under his nimble right hand runs. Richard Davis shows off his awesome technique by performing one of the clearest, most flawless, uptempo bass solos I have ever heard. Eddie Blackwell finishes the soloing with an extended rapid fire burst of tight snare rolls and bombed out tom fills. Easily one of the highlights of the entire live set. Dolphy switches to his flute for the second and last of the disc's extended works, the slower and somewhat more convetional standard, "Like Someone In Love". For his solo, Dolphy ranges from puckish to lyrical to more avante garde overblowing and and percussive tone exploration. Little adopts a more melancholy laidback tone and constructs a soulful, lyrical solo. Waldron swings into a laidback blues flavored solo colored by switches in tempo in its second half. Davis has another dexterous, expressive solo he truly is one of the masters of the jazz bass solo. This music is not only important as a document of one of Jazz's greatest live performances, but because both Little and Dolphy would pass away within the next three years, Little three months after this date at 23. I recommend buying vol. 1 first, this cd and the final collection "Memorial Album" last, but the music stands alone and sounds fresh almost fourty years later. Highly recommened music.

I can only say wow!! I would encourage you to get this pt2 of a wonderful concert date. please don't be afraid to get this due to the number of tracks. I would have gotten this one for "like someone in love" by itself. what an awesome cd.

I bought this back in 1978, when I was 16, and it still remains one of my favorite disks, even over "Out To Lunch" or "Berlin Concerts". Dolphy's bass clarinet is a revelation-- I can't add much to the other reviewers, they are spot on, but I will say that he can wring some amazing emotions out of the unwieldy beast. He can go from sweetly lyrical to jarringly paranoid in only a few bars.

This is a great CD. Aggression is 16 minutes long and has great soloing from everyone. Richard Davis' walking bass solo is so fast it's amazing. Like Someone in Love is nearly 20 minutes long and some of the most expressive jazz I've heard. Eric's flute is contrasted beautifully with Booker's trumpet. Only two songs, you say? Yeah, but each song is an improvised symphony in terms of emotional content. Get this CD and feel the music!

This is good but having the selections (without the alternate takes) from the two volumes on one disc would have been better.

This cd is the second of three that chronicles Eric Dolphy's legendary concert recorded in 1961 at New york's Five Spot cafe. Dolphy' clarinet and flute lead Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass, Eddie Blackwell on drums, and the near forgotten trumpet great Booker Little. If the fact this disc only has two tracks makes you hesitant to buy it, fear not both tracks are deep and reward multiple listenings. Little's "Aggression" opens the disc, and is exceptional because it is one of the few times on record when Dolphy does not outshine the other soloists. Little takes the first solo, and simply burns. His brilliant faculty and fertile imagination are on full display as he manages to wrend sounds and effects rarely hear from a trumpet, all the while keeping his musical acrobatics logical and his tone clear and bright. Dolphy follows with his distinctive bass clarinet. His solos on the seemingly awkward solo instrument are always among his most inventive and interesting. Keeping with this standard Dolphy dives into a burbling squealing exploration of the instrument's lower register. Waldron follows with a solo seemingly sparked by Dolphy and Little. His left hand laying down block chords under his nimble right hand runs. Richard Davis shows off his awesome technique by performing one of the clearest, most flawless, uptempo bass solos I have ever heard. Eddie Blackwell finishes the soloing with an extended rapid fire burst of tight snare rolls and bombed out tom fills. Easily one of the highlights of the entire live set. Dolphy switches to his flute for the second and last of the disc's extended works, the slower and somewhat more convetional standard, "Like Someone In Love". For his solo, Dolphy ranges from puckish to lyrical to more avante garde overblowing and and percussive tone exploration. Little adopts a more melancholy laidback tone and constructs a soulful, lyrical solo. Waldron swings into a laidback blues flavored solo colored by switches in tempo in its second half. Davis has another dexterous, expressive solo he truly is one of the masters of the jazz bass solo. This music is not only important as a document of one of Jazz's greatest live performances, but because both Little and Dolphy would pass away within the next three years, Little three months after this date at 23. I recommend buying vol. 1 first, this cd and the final collection "Memorial Album" last, but the music stands alone and sounds fresh almost fourty years later. Highly recommened 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.