Review: “A Tribute to Eric Dolphy” by Harry S. Pariser

Incorporating a stellar lineup
of local and imported musicians, Jazz in
Flight presented “A Tribute to Eric Dolphy”
at Yoshi’s on June 24. The first set was
broadcast live on KPFA.
Eric has influenced innumerable
musicians, and many of those performing
had particular links to the man and his
music. Bassist Dr. Art Davis was the most
direct link, having recorded with Eric. LAbased
flautist extraordinaire James
Newton was a friend of Dolphy, and has
continued to develop his style. Newton
served as the ensemble’s leader and as the
evening’s master of ceremonies.
Dolphy was born in Los Angeles on June
24, 1928. He is best known for his own
work, as well as his collaborations with
Chico Hamilton, Charles Mingus, Booker
Little, and John Coltrane. Dolphy was an
accomplished multi-instrumentalist who
played alto, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet.
He died of a heart attack in Berlin in 1964.
Dolphy’s work was always well ahead
of its time. Austrian scholar Alexandra
Hettergott, in a fascinating paper on
Dolphy’s music, commented on “Eric
Dolphy’s fields of musical interests: his
liking for Schoenberg’s free tonality, his
being intrigued by Indian ragas and the
singing of the Pygmies, his being inspired
by bird songs...”
Beginning the first set, Newton
introduced “Beard and Hat,” Dolphy’s
tribute to Thelonious Monk, remarking
that “the first time I heard Eric’s music, it
scared me to death.” James Newton offered
one of his spectacular solos, and violinist
Lesa Terry – known for her playing with
the Uptown String Quartet and Max
Roach’s Double Quartet – added to the mix.
A dynamic version of Mal Waldron’s
“Fire Waltz,” prefaced by a spectacular intro
by Dr. Anthony Brown on the drums, was
followed by Duke Ellington’s “Come
Sunday.” Chinese master musician Qi
Chao-Liu sat in on zhonghu, a lowerpitched
version of the stringed erhu. Qi,
Lisa, and Jon Jang played with the rhythm
section for this tune. As someone who
experimented with many musical styles,
Eric would have been pleased by this
collaboration.
During the second set, the ensemble
played “GW,” Dolphy’s tune for his former
leader Gerald Wilson, “Something Sweet,
Something Tender,” which featured
trumpeter Leo Wadada Smith, “Two-
Forty-Five,” and also reprised “Fire Waltz”
and “Hat and Beard.” San Jose State
Professor Hafez Modirzadeh contributed
mightily on the tenor sax, and James
Newton continued his remarkable flute
work. But the set’s highlight was Oliver
Lake’s performance of “The Prophet”
which featured brilliant alto sax work by
Lake (best known for his work with the
World Saxophone Quartet) and a great
solo by Dr. Art Davis. Lake has recorded
“The Prophet” on his album of the same
name. The evening concluded with an
encore: the Dolphy composition
“Gazzelloni,” presumably written as a
tribute to Italian classical flautist Severino
Gazzelloni. “Because,” as James Newton
remarked, “Charles Mingus said ‘that we
went to school, too.’”
.