Avant-garde and sometimes controversial, Eric Dolphy was a master of several instruments. He was one of the first musicians to record unaccompanied horn solos, and largely introduced the bass clarinet as a solo instrument. On this 1964 album, Dolphy displays his talents on flute, alto saxophone, and bass clarinet.

Track Listing

1. Hat and Beard
2. Something Sweet, Something Tender
3. Gazzelloni
4. Out to Lunch
5. Straight Up and Down

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9150 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Album Description
With four of the brightest innovative talents in New York (Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis and Tony Williams) and five startling, diverse originals, Eric Dolphy made the greatest and most adventurous album of his career for Blue Note. Unfortunately, it would be his last studio recording. He died in Germany four months later at the age of 36.

Amazon.com
Eric Dolphy was among the most daring, impassioned, and technically assured improvisers to come of age in the 1960s. From his groundbreaking work with Chico Hamilton and Charles Mingus, through his catalytic stint with John Coltrane, and all through his brilliant solo recordings for Prestige, this reed innovator defined the best elements of the swing and the bebop traditions, from Benny Carter through Bird, while extending on the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic freedom of Monk. Dolphy is an emotional shaman with a keen comic edge, as is evident in the rhythmic sauntering, drunken gait of his theme to "Straight Up and Down," and Monk's influence is clearly discernible in Dolphy's witty dissonances and vocalized blues phrasing throughout Out to Lunch! (his only Blue Note recording, completed shortly before his untimely death). Rhythm masters Richard Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, and Tony Williams suspend time at will, sculpting in open space, while deconstructing the harmony and superimposing cubist rhythmic displacements--periodically regrouping around Freddie Hubbard's bumblebee trumpet and the leader's vocalized bass clarinet (his Monkish "Hat and Beard"), wailing alto (the martial parodies of the title tune), and exhilarating flute (the lyric, swinging "Gazzelloni"). Out to Lunch! represents Dolphy's most fully realized vision. --Chip Stern

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Customer Reviews

Dolphy's last classic album
Eric Dolphy was one of those rare musicians for he could straddle between the avant-garde jazz world and that of classical music--not even Wynton Marsalis can claim that virtue since he has outrightly put down the avant garde in print. If you're undecided about this form of jazz then do check out this album. This was one of Dolphy's last recorded U.S. effort and it's a stunner (you wonder how backward Downbeat was when they gave this a less than stellar rating). Backed by familiar co-horts such as Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson and Richard Davis, the virtuoso Dolphy demonstrates his excellence with his own tunes like the Monk-dedicated, "Hat & Beard" to a tribute to a fellow flautist, "Gazzeloni". And let's not forget the great late Tony Williams on drums--the success of this album is due to the empathy between him and Dolphy. The only regret I have about the RVG version of this classic is that in the 20 bit remastering, separation is virtually lost and the sound is very thin, tinny. If you can, do get the original issue or at worse, the European edition. I traded the RVG version for an original issue which at that time was cheaper!! Other RVG releases to avoid are "Midnight Blue" ,"Unity", and "Speak No Evil"--get the original issues. Outside of that this album is recommended.

One of the best records I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot
An utterly inaccessible but extremely worthwhile jazz masterpiece. There's no piano here - Dolphy plays a variety of woodwinds (bass clarinet on "Hat and Beard" and "Something Sweet, Something Tender"; flute on "Gazzelloni"; alto sax on the title cut and "Straight Up and Down"); and the band includes other famous jazz figures such as Tony Williams (soon to join Miles Davis and form his own group, Tony Williams Lifetime) on drums and Freddie Hubbard (also of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage-era band, and the Coltrane group that made Ascension) playing trumpet. But the real star of the show is Dolphy, merging Monk's innovations in odd chord progression, Coleman's love of atypical harmonies, and Mingus' experiments with song structure - often, the themes are played in odd measures, giving them a tremendously off-kilter feel (the nervy "Straight Up and Down"; Monk tribute "Hat and Beard", with an insane vibraphone part from Bobby Hutcherson). The sole ballad of the set, "Something Sweet, Something Tender", mainly a duet between Dolph and bassist Ron Davis, is beautiful in a weird way, much like some of Coltrane's very last recordings. There's also a strange pseudo-classical experiment ("Gazzelloni") that's absolutely brilliant, because there is nothing else like it. And I do mean nothing - listen to Dolph's flute. It will dispel all notions of the instrument having a pleasant, easy-on-the-ears sound. It also will dispel all notions of vibes being pleasant and easy-on-the-ears, for those looking to see notions dispelled. It's an insane piece, which is precisely why I love it. That, and it has a bass solo. Those are always good. The amazing title track is probably the worst song here, but it would've been the best on any other album - again, the bass solo really is something. I gotta say, get this right now if you like Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, and/or Charles Mingus - especially if you, like me, like all three of 'em. It's not for everybody, but it's very much worth a buy.

A "sweet" and "tender" recording
After listening to this recording, it was clear Dolphy more than successfully honed his distinct musical purpose. He created music worthy of inclusion into the musical canon. "Outward Bound" seemed like Dolphy transitioning from his Mingus days to his own style. "Out There" was a loose, fuzzy progression toward the "Out to Lunch" recording. "Out to Lunch" is much, much tighter and fully focused. There is not one unessential note on the entire cd. Dolphy's phrases are more exquisitely expressive than ever, with his juxtaposition of low and high notes and "animal sounds". Dolphy is a refreshing change from other heavyweights like Davis and Coltrane, because his does not have an intensely dramatic style. He is down to earth, someone who could describe the average joe's day in a beautiful song. His tone and technical virtuosity gets your attention, but he is not abrasive with either one, a pleasing trait very similar to Parker. As a Monk fan, I would have to say my favorite track on this album is "something sweet, something tender," largely because it is blues-laden, just like all Monk's music. And, like Monk, there is humor in his music, a kind of poking fun at grandiose melodrama, as the lazy chorus drags on "something tender, something sweet." Jocularity is also evident in the humorously uneventful title and cover. One can easily note after the first listen that "Out to Lunch" would not have been as monumental as it became without Hubbard, Hutcherson, Davis and Williams creating a moody, rich environment for Dolphy. This is an essential record.