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Sound Of Fearlessness
25 JUN 09 CHRIS SLAWECKI
Recorded on a hot July 1961 night with Booker Little, pianist Mal Waldron, and his incendiary rhythm section, Eric Dolphy At The Five Spot, Volume 2 (Prestige, RVG Edition) plays like a primer on Eric Dolphy's fearless sound.
I imagine that musicians either loved or hated playing with Dolphy, rarely in between, because the great freedom of expression that was so essential to his music comes with an even greater responsibility to use that freedom wisely. He eventually discovered kindred musicians willing and able to swim in his churning waters, such as Little, whose trumpet often -- not always, but often -- provided a more temperate yin to Dolphy's rampaging saxophone yang.
The very title of the opening "Aggression" summarizes its uncompromising musical ferocity. Even so, its two ballads are beautiful. Dolphy's flute runs rings 'round "Like Someone in Love" and "Booker's Waltz" dances in true waltz time. Waldron sounds at home both in the lower registers alongside bassist Richard Davis and pin-wheeling among the frontline.
Perhaps Dolphy played like a man possessed because he sensed the time he had to play was short. Little died about three months after this performance, and Dolphy succumbed to diabetic complications a few years later. Their passings seem to underscore the legend of this single night at the Five Spot, stuffed so full of music that it comprised four different Dolphy releases: At the Five Spot Volumes 1 & 2, Memorial Album and Here And There.
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Aggression
Eric Dolphy with Booker Little, from At ...
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Don't Explain
Mal Waldron, from Mal / 2
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April Fool
Eric Dolphy, from Here And There
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