At the Five Spot, Vol. 1 (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster) Eric Dolphy

• 1 Fire Waltz 13:42
• 2 Bee Vamp (Album Version) 12:11
• 3 The Prophet (Album Version) 21:22
• 4 Bee Vamp (Alternate Take) (Album Version) 09:25
• Total Runtime 56:40

Info zu At the Five Spot, Vol. 1 (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster)

Nachdem er Charles Mingus und dessen Ensemble verlassen hatte und mit John Coltrane zusammenarbeitete, gründete Eric Dolphy ein Quintett mit Booker Little. Dieses wurde im Lauf der Jahre zu Recht legendär und zum Vorbild progressiver Jazzer, auch wenn der Trompeter Little nur drei Monate nach der Aufnahme von „Eric Dolphy At The Five Spot“ verstarb. Die Post-Bop-Szene bewunderte Dolphy und Little für ihre dissonanten und atonalen Klänge, die zugleich die Kritiker auf den Plan riefen. Sie wurden begleitet von Pianist Mal Waldron, Bassist Richard Davis und Schlagzeuger Ed Blackwell.

Tonmeister Rudy van Gelder fing mit seiner tragbaren Aufnahmeausrüstung am 16. Juli 1961 im Cooper Square das Zusammenspiel einer außerordentlichen Combo ein.

Eric Dolphy, Altsaxophon (bei „Fire Waltz“ und „The Prophet“), Bassklarinette (bei „Bee Vamp“ und „Aggression“) und Flöte (bei „Like someone in Love“)
Booker Little, Trompete
Mal Waldron, Klavier
Richard Davis, Kontrabass
Ed Blackwell, Schlagzeug

Live aufgenommen im Five Spot, New York City; 16. Juli 1961
2008 im Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, neu gemastert
Alle Übertragungen erfolgten von den analogen Masterbändern auf digital mit 24-Bit-Auflösung

Digital neu gemastert

Eric Dolphy
was a true original with his own distinctive styles on alto, flute, and bass clarinet. His music fell into the "avant-garde" category yet he did not discard chordal improvisation altogether (although the relationship of his notes to the chords was often pretty abstract). While most of the other "free jazz" players sounded very serious in their playing, Dolphy's solos often came across as ecstatic and exuberant. His improvisations utilized very wide intervals, a variety of nonmusical speechlike sounds, and its own logic. Although the alto was his main axe, Dolphy was the first flutist to move beyond bop (influencing James Newton) and he largely introduced the bass clarinet to jazz as a solo instrument. He was also one of the first (after Coleman Hawkins) to record unaccompanied horn solos, preceding Anthony Braxton by five years.

Eric Dolphy first recorded while with Roy Porter & His Orchestra (1948-1950) in Los Angeles, he was in the Army for two years, and he then played in obscurity in L.A. until he joined the Chico Hamilton Quintet in 1958. In 1959 he settled in New York and was soon a member of the Charles Mingus Quartet. By 1960 Dolphy was recording regularly as a leader for Prestige and gaining attention for his work with Mingus, but throughout his short career he had difficulty gaining steady work due to his very advanced style. Dolphy recorded quite a bit during 1960-1961, including three albums cut at the Five Spot while with trumpeter Booker Little, Free Jazz with Ornette Coleman, sessions with Max Roach, and some European dates.

Late in 1961 Dolphy was part of the John Coltrane Quintet; their engagement at the Village Vanguard caused conservative critics to try to smear them as playing "anti-jazz" due to the lengthy and very free solos. During 1962-1963 Dolphy played third stream music with Gunther Schuller and Orchestra U.S.A., and gigged all too rarely with his own group. In 1964 he recorded his classic Out to Lunch for Blue Note and traveled to Europe with the Charles Mingus Sextet (which was arguably the bassist's most exciting band, as shown on The Great Concert of Charles Mingus). After he chose to stay in Europe, Dolphy had a few gigs but then died suddenly from a diabetic coma at the age of 36, a major loss.

Virtually all of Eric Dolphy's recordings are in print, including a nine-CD box set of all of his Prestige sessions. In addition, Dolphy can be seen on film with John Coltrane (included on The Coltrane Legacy) and with Mingus from 1964 on a video released by Shanachie. (Scott Yanow)

Booklet für At the Five Spot, Vol. 1 (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster)