SUNDAY JAZZ
ERIC DOLPHY
Eric Dolphy - The Complete Prestige Recordings [1995] (9 x CDs)
Released in 1995 by Prestige, Eric Dolphy: The Complete Prestige Recordings is a 9-CD box set chronicling Dolphy’s prolific output between 1960 and 1961. This set is a sonic biography, capturing Dolphy’s evolution from hard bop sideman to avant-garde trailblazer. The set includes sessions originally issued on New Jazz and Prestige, with Dolphy leading or co-leading alongside Booker Little, Oliver Nelson, Ken McIntyre, and Mal Waldron.
Highlights include Outward Bound, Out There, and Far Cry, each showcasing Dolphy’s mastery of alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute. The box also features his work with the Latin Jazz Quintet (Caribé), and collaborations with Oliver Nelson on Screamin’ the Blues. Rare alternate takes of “G.W.,” “245,” and “Les” offer insight into Dolphy’s improvisational process, while extended pieces like “The Prophet” and “Booker’s Waltz” reveal his spiritual and compositional depth.
The set is rich with rarities: unissued takes, live cuts, and ensemble experiments that never made it to LP. The remastering is crisp, preserving the raw energy of Dolphy’s phrasing and the interplay with legends like Roy Haynes, Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, and Freddie Hubbard. Liner notes provide historical context, but it’s the music that speaks loudest, Dolphy’s angular lines, his speech-like bass clarinet solos, and his fearless harmonic leaps.
For archivists, this box is definitive. It captures a brief but explosive chapter in jazz history, where Dolphy’s voice, urgent, lyrical, and unbound, helped reshape the language of modern improvisation. This Prestige retrospective is a portal into the restless genius of a player who never stopped reaching. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Eric Dolphy - G.W. 7:58
02 Eric Dolphy - On Green Dolphin Street 5:46
03 Eric Dolphy - Les 5:14
04 Eric Dolphy - 245 6:52
05 Eric Dolphy - Glad to Be Unhappy 5:29
06 Eric Dolphy - Miss Toni 5:42
07 Eric Dolphy - April Fool 4:08
08 Eric Dolphy - G.W. (alternate take I) 12:12
09 Eric Dolphy - 245 (alternate take I) 8:11
10 Eric Dolphy - Screamin' the Blues 11:00
11 Eric Dolphy - March On, March On 4:59
CD2
01 Eric Dolphy - The Drive 5:50
02 Eric Dolphy - The Meetin' 6:44
03 Eric Dolphy - Three Seconds 6:26
04 Eric Dolphy - Alto-Itis 5:00
05 Eric Dolphy - Lautir 4:05
06 Eric Dolphy - Curtsy 5:53
07 Eric Dolphy - Geo's Tune 7:14
08 Eric Dolphy - They All Laughed 5:09
09 Eric Dolphy - Head Shakin' 10:48
10 Eric Dolphy - Dianna 9:08
11 Eric Dolphy - Out There 6:53
CD3
01 Eric Dolphy - Serene 7:01
02 Eric Dolphy - The Baron 2:57
03 Eric Dolphy - Eclipse 2:45
04 Eric Dolphy - 17 West 4:49
05 Eric Dolphy - Sketch of Melba 4:39
06 Eric Dolphy - Feather 5:02
07 Eric Dolphy - Caribe 10:08
08 Eric Dolphy - Blues in 6/8 5:44
09 Eric Dolphy - First Bass Line 4:06
10 Eric Dolphy - Mambo Ricci 6:57
11 Eric Dolphy - Spring is Here 5:08
12 Eric Dolphy - Sunday Go Meetin' 5:50
13 Eric Dolphy - Trane Whistle 6:19
14 Eric Dolphy - Whole Nelson 3:32
CD4
01 Eric Dolphy - You Are Too Beautiful 5:12
02 Eric Dolphy - The Stolen Moment 7:53
03 Eric Dolphy - Walk Away 5:26
04 Eric Dolphy - Jaws 4:37
05 Eric Dolphy - Mrs. Parker of K.C. (Bird's Mother) 8:02
06 Eric Dolphy - Ode to Charlie Parker 8:44
07 Eric Dolphy - Far Cry 3:54
08 Eric Dolphy - Miss Ann 4:18
09 Eric Dolphy - Left Alone 6:42
10 Eric Dolphy - Tenderly 4:20
11 Eric Dolphy - It's Magic 5:41
12 Eric Dolphy - Serene 6:39
13 Eric Dolphy - Images 5:45
CD5
01 Eric Dolphy - Six and Four 7:17
02 Eric Dolphy - Mama Lou 5:04
03 Eric Dolphy - Ralph's New Blues 9:56
04 Eric Dolphy - Straight Ahead 5:35
05 Eric Dolphy - 111-44 3:27
06 Eric Dolphy - Rally 5:42
07 Eric Dolphy - Bass Duet 5:44
08 Eric Dolphy - Softly, as in A Morning Sunrise 7:39
09 Eric Dolphy - Where? 6:01
10 Eric Dolphy - Yes, Indeed 5:51
11 Eric Dolphy - Saucer Eyes 5:09
12 Eric Dolphy - Status Seeking 8:51
CD6
01 Eric Dolphy - Duquility 4:10
02 Eric Dolphy - Thirteen 4:43
03 Eric Dolphy - We Diddit 4:25
04 Eric Dolphy - Warm Canto 5:39
05 Eric Dolphy - Warp and Woof 5:36
06 Eric Dolphy - Fire Waltz 7:58
07 Eric Dolphy - Like Someone in Love 19:42
08 Eric Dolphy - God Bless the Child 5:34
09 Eric Dolphy - Aggression 16:44
CD7
01 Eric Dolphy - Fire Waltz 13:24
02 Eric Dolphy - Bee Vamp 12:21
03 Eric Dolphy - The Prophet 21:15
04 Eric Dolphy - Booker's Waltz 14:36
05 Eric Dolphy - Status Seeking 13:20
CD8
01 Eric Dolphy - Number Eight (Potsa Lotsa) 15:33
02 Eric Dolphy - Bee Vamp (alternate) 10:05
03 Eric Dolphy - Don't Blame Me 11:08
04 Eric Dolphy - When Lights Are Low 12:10
05 Eric Dolphy - Don't Blame Me (alternate) 11:44
06 Eric Dolphy - Les 5:55
07 Eric Dolphy - The Way You Look Tonight 9:08
CD9
01 Eric Dolphy - Woody'N You 10:14
02 Eric Dolphy - Laura 13:12
03 Eric Dolphy - Glad to Be Unhappy 6:20
04 Eric Dolphy - God Bless The Child 7:08
05 Eric Dolphy - In The Blues (takes 1-3) 16:59
06 Eric Dolphy - Hi-Fly 13:27
07 Eric Dolphy - Oleo 7:22
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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Trane and Dolphy: https://youtu.be/-jOH5UJUb8s . It doesn't get any better than this. Thank you very much BB, really.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ja-Mike.
DeleteTrane and Dolphy together is like hearing the cosmos speak in two voices, one searching, one soaring. Their interplay on “Impressions” is fearless, spiritual, and totally unbound. Thanks for sharing the link.
Cheers.
Thanks for this post. I have most of the CDs and vinyl copies of Eric but this box set ties it all nicely together. I wish I could get my hands on the booklet!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joe.
DeleteThat’s the beauty of a well-curated box set, isn’t it? Even for those who already own the individual albums, something about having it all gathered, sequenced, and contextualized just hits differently.
Hoping the booklet finds its way into your hands someday.
Cheers.
This jazz artist was such a genius on whatever reed he played. I fell in love with the way he played the bass clarinet. I usually do not like the flute in jazz but Dolphy plays it with such a gorgeous tone. Listening to the first disk right now. I have this one on vinyl and CD. Freddie plays his ass off on it and who is the piano player? I forget but I have always loved this album.. Truly out there!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joe.
DeleteDolphy really was a genius on reeds, and his bass clarinet work still feels like it’s speaking a new language. I totally get what you mean about the flute too, he gave it such warmth and bite, it never feels ornamental.
The "Outward Bound" session recorded on April 1, 1960, at Van Gelder Studio, with the following confirmed lineup: Eric Dolphy - alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute + Freddie Hubbard - trumpet + Jaki Byard - piano + George Tucker - bass and Roy Haynes - drums.
Cheers.
Thanks for putting this out. While I've owned this for many years you inspired me to revisit last night. Been awhile and sounded great. One of the first jazz records I bought about a billion years ago was a twofer with (I think) out there and far cry. I often wondered if say Dolphy and maybe Coltrane lived another 20 years and decided to revisit their earlier styles and gone in a different direction what it would of sounded like. Oh well. Between the Jay Miller sessions, the new west anthology, big ol box of soul, and the funk from nawlins, you recently posted I'm having a tough time planning for sleep. Ha ha! Keep em comin' and thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, RichardR.
DeleteYour vision of Coltrane and Dolphy is a dream worth holding. They may have bent bebop into something even more cosmic.
And yes, with the Jay Miller swamp blues, New West’s dusty Americana, soul boxes bursting with feeling, and that New Orleans funk, Sleep doesn’t stand a chance. You’re living in a musical floodplain and it’s glorious.
Cheers.
I'll sleep when I'm dead!
ReplyDeleteMe too...
DeleteHearty thanks for the post. It's the Blue Note recording Out to Lunch that first flipped my wig for Dolphy. So of course all these Prestige recordings followed quickly. To this day, Out to Lunch remains a major touchstone for me--never have I heard music sound so utterly unhinged and technically precise simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of sleep...when do you or any of the contributors here get any at all?
HI Ian.
DeleteThat record flips the script: jagged, cerebral, and somehow still swinging. Dolphy’s phrasing on bass clarinet feels like it’s decoding some alien language. And yes, once that wig’s flipped, the Prestige recordings are the natural next dive, more grounded, but still full of wild edges and spiritual reach.
As for sleep, let’s just say it’s jazz hours around here, nonlinear, improvisational, and often skipped in favor of one more spin.
Cheers.
"Jazz Hours". Thanks for that BB, that's a keeper I hadn't heard before.
DeleteTerrific post - many thanks indeed!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Paul Redbeard.
DeleteAlways glad when a post lands well. Whether it’s deep cuts, soulful rarities, or jazz that bends the cosmos, it’s all about keeping the spirit stirred and the ears curious.
Cheers.