Eric Dolphy

Review by Ken Waxman

Dedicated, detailed but in some ways disappointing, French critic Guillaume Belhomme’s slim volume aims to bring up to date all the available data on the brilliant, but foreshortened musical career of American  multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy (1928-1964). Translated from French by Pierre Crépon, and subtitled Biographical Sketches, Belhomme comprehensively traces the musical and contemporary circumstances involved in nearly all of Dolphy’s most celebrated discs. These include not only those under his leadership, but also as part of ensembles led by John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus, as well as, among others, drummer Chico Hamilton and even pianist John Lewis’ Third Stream experiments.

The book is particularly valuable when Belhomme deals with previously unreleased, obscure or unknown recordings such as a 1954 house concert that has Los Angeles-born Dolphy playing Bebop alongside trumpeter Clifford Brown; or a series of radio checks or perhaps bootleg sessions with European players in 1964  during Dolphy’s final weeks in Europe before his death from diabetics-related cause in Berlin. Interestingly enough, although by that time the reeds player was considered a committed member of the avant garde due to his work on seminal discs such as Free Jazz, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus and Olé, he still retained his mainstream connections with live set lists including Dolphy original plus Jazz and songbook standards.

Otherwise the detailed and chronological reports on recording sessions and live dates balance the author’s interpretations of the sounds with that of contemporary reviewers. Many of those were less than complimentary, with some critics calling Dolphy’s – and Coltrane’s – creations anti-jazz.

The disappointing part of the volume is that once again Dolphy fails to be portrayed not as a fully-formed human, but simply as a musician. Only in the final chapter where Belhomme amplifies his compendium of secondary sources with personal interviews and original reviews are these limitations transcended. More about Dolphy’s impending marriage to dancer Joyce Mordecai, reminiscences by European musicians vibist Gunter Hampel and drummer Han Bennink and details about his death and transportation to the US for burial offer glimpses of a man who was consumed by music but still had other interests.

Hopefully before too long authors will take on the monumental task of chronicling Dolphy’s life and music with the same care and detail given to books on Sun Ra, John Coltrane and others. Until then, this volume will be a valuable gateway for those who want to know more about Dolphy’s music and varied recording career