Editing Eric Dolphy

{{Short description|American jazz musician (1928–1964)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Eric Dolphy
| image             = Eric Dolphy.jpg
| alt               = A black-and-white photo of Dolphy seated, wearing a suit
| background        = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name        = Eric Allan Dolphy Jr.
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1928|6|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1964|6|29|1928|6|20|mf=y}}
| death_place       = [[West Berlin]]
| instrument        = {{flatlist|
*[[Alto saxophone]]
*[[bass clarinet]]
*[[Western concert flute|flute]]
*[[soprano clarinet]]
*[[baritone saxophone]]
*[[piccolo]]
*[[tenor saxophone]]}}
| genre             = {{flatlist|
*[[Avant-garde jazz]]
*[[post-bop]]
*[[third stream]]
*[[free jazz]]}}
| occupation        = {{flatlist|
*[[Bandleader]]
*[[composer]]
*[[sideman]]}}
| years_active      = 1949–1964
| label             = {{flatlist|
*[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]
*[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]
*[[Limelight Records|Limelight]]}}
| associated_acts   = {{flatlist|
*[[Charles Mingus]]
*[[John Coltrane]]
*[[Booker Little]]
*[[Chico Hamilton]]
*[[Mal Waldron]]
*[[Ron Carter]]
*[[Oliver Nelson]]
*[[Ornette Coleman]]
*[[Max Roach]]
*[[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]]
*[[Freddie Hubbard]]
*[[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]]
*[[Ted Curson]]
*[[Abbey Lincoln]]
*[[Makanda Ken McIntyre|Ken McIntyre]]
*[[Andrew Hill (jazz musician)|Andrew Hill]]
*[[Benny Golson]]}}
| website           = {{URL|http://www.bluenote.com/artist/eric-dolphy/}}
| module            = {{Infobox person
| embed            = yes
| education        = [[Los Angeles City College]]
}}
}}

'''Eric Allan Dolphy Jr.''' (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American [[jazz]] multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an [[Alto saxophone|alto saxophonist]], [[bass clarinet]]ist, and [[Flute|flautist]],<ref name="baker">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Porter |first=Lewis |editor-last=Kuhn |editor-first=Laura |title=Dolphy, Eric (Allan) |encyclopedia=[[Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians]] |date=2001 |publisher=[[G. Schirmer, Inc.]] |volume=2 |location=New York |oclc=313884977 |pages=903}}</ref> Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence during the same era. His use of the bass clarinet helped to establish the unconventional instrument within jazz.<ref>{{cite book | last=Stephans |first=Michael|author-link=Michael Stephans| title=Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion | publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] | year=2013 | pages=237 }}</ref><ref name="am_guide">{{cite book | editor-first1=Michael |editor-last1=Erlewine | editor-first2=Vladimir |editor-last2=Bogdanov |editor-first3=Chris |editor-last3=Woodstra |editor-first4=Scott |editor-last4=Yanow |title=All Music Guide to Jazz |edition=2nd |publisher=Miller Freeman | year=1996|page=205}}</ref> Dolphy extended the vocabulary and boundaries of the alto saxophone, and was among the earliest significant jazz flute soloists.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Stephans|first1=Michael| title=Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion | publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] | year=2013 | pages=234–235 }}</ref><ref name="am_guide" />

His [[Musical improvisation|improvisational]] style was characterized by the use of wide [[Interval (music)|intervals]], in addition to employing an array of [[extended techniques]] to emulate the sounds of human voices and animals.<ref>{{cite book | last=Stephans |first=Michael| title=Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion | publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] | year=2013 | pages=199 }}</ref><ref name="gioiahist">{{cite book | last=Gioia |first=Ted| title=The History of Jazz | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | year=2011 | pages=280 }}</ref><ref name="feather">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Feather |first1=Leonard |last2=Gitler |first2=Ira |title=Dolphy, Eric Allan |encyclopedia=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz |date=1999 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |pages=186}}</ref> He used melodic lines that were "angular, zigzagging from interval to interval, taking hairpin turns at unexpected junctures, making dramatic leaps from the lower to the upper register."<ref name="gioiahist" /> Although Dolphy's work is sometimes classified as [[free jazz]], his compositions and solos were often rooted in conventional (if highly abstracted) tonal [[bebop]] harmony.<ref>{{cite book | last = Williams | first = Martin | author-link = Martin Williams (writer) | title =The Jazz Tradition | publisher =[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York | year = 1993 | pages=249–250 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Deveaux|first1=Scott| last2=Giddins|first2=Gary|title=Jazz | publisher=[[W.W. Norton]] | year=2009 | pages=424 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Such |first=David |date=1993 |title=Avant-Garde Jazz Musicians: Performing "Out There" |location=Iowa City |publisher=University of Iowa Press |pages=59–61 }}</ref>

==Early life, family and education==
Eric Dolphy was born and raised in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]].<ref name="sparked">{{cite magazine| url= https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-eric-dolphy-deepened-my-love-of-jazz| magazine= [[The New Yorker]]| title= How Eric Dolphy Sparked My Love of Jazz| date= January 25, 2019| first= Richard| last= Brody| author-link= Richard Brody| access-date= March 3, 2020| archive-date= October 25, 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201025060458/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-eric-dolphy-deepened-my-love-of-jazz| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Ratliff">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/arts/music/a-new-focus-on-eric-dolphy-in-washington-and-montclair.html |title=Jazz Enigma of the '60s Has an Encore |last=Ratliff |first=Ben |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 27, 2014 | access-date=May 24, 2020}}</ref> His parents were Sadie and Eric Dolphy, Sr.,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simosko |first1=Vladimir |last2=Tepperman |first2=Barry |title=Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography & Discography |publisher=Da Capo |year=1971 |page=27 }}</ref> who immigrated to the United States from [[Panama]].<ref name="baker" /> He began music lessons at the age of six, studying clarinet and saxophone privately.<ref name="thomas_76">{{cite book | last1=Thomas|first1=Lorenzo| last2=Nielsen|first2=Aldon|title=Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor |year=2008 | pages=76 }}</ref> While still in junior high, he began to study the oboe, aspiring to a professional symphonic career,<ref name="thomas_76" /> and received a two-year scholarship to study at the music school of the [[University of Southern California]].<ref name= Ratliff /> When aged 13, he received a "Superior" award on clarinet from the California School Band and Orchestra festival.<ref name="thomas_76" /> He attended [[Susan Miller Dorsey High School|Dorsey High School]], where he continued his musical studies and learned additional instruments.<ref name="thomas_76" /> By 1946, he was co-director of the Youth Choir at the Westminster Presbyterian Church run by Reverend Hampton B. Hawes, father of the [[Hampton Hawes|jazz pianist of the same name.]]<ref name="thomas_76" /> He graduated in 1947, then attended [[Los Angeles City College]], during which time he played contemporary classical works such as [[Stravinsky]]'s ''[[L'Histoire du soldat]]'' and, along with [[Jimmy Knepper]] and [[Art Farmer]], performed with [[Roy Porter (drummer)|Roy Porter]]'s ''17 Beboppers''.<ref name="thomas_76" /> He went on to make eight recordings with Porter by 1949.<ref name="baker" /> On these early sessions, Dolphy occasionally played [[baritone saxophone]], as well as [[alto saxophone]], flute, and [[soprano clarinet]].

Dolphy entered the U.S. Army in 1950 and was stationed at [[Fort Lewis (Washington)|Fort Lewis]], Washington.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dolphy-eric-1928-1964 |title=Eric Dolphy (1928–1964) |last=Walton |first=Peter |date=December 9, 2007 |website=BlackPast.org |access-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626210626/https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dolphy-eric-1928-1964/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in 1952, he attended the [[United States Armed Forces School of Music|Navy School of Music]].<ref name="feather" /> Following his discharge in 1953, he returned to L.A., where he worked with many musicians, including [[Buddy Collette]], [[Eddie Beal]], and [[Gerald Wilson]],<ref name="feather" /> to whom he later dedicated the tune "G.W.", recorded on ''[[Outward Bound (Eric Dolphy album)|Outward Bound]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outward-bound-eric-dolphy-prestige-records-review-by-douglas-payne.php |title=Eric Dolphy: Outward Bound |last=Payne |first=Douglas |date=November 1, 1999 |website=AllAboutJazz.com |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626064254/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outward-bound-eric-dolphy-prestige-records-review-by-douglas-payne.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Dolphy often had friends come by to jam, enabled by the fact that his father had built a studio for him in the family's backyard.<ref name= Ratliff /> Recordings made in 1954 with [[Clifford Brown]] document this early period.<ref>{{cite book | last=Catalano|first=Nick| title=Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | location=New York |year=2000 | pages=115–116 }}</ref>

==Career==
Dolphy had his big break when he was invited to join [[Chico Hamilton]]'s quintet in 1958.<ref name= sparked /> With the group he became known to a wider audience and was able to tour extensively through 1958–59, when he left Hamilton's group and moved to New York City.<ref name="feather" /> Dolphy appears on flute with Hamilton's band in the film ''[[Jazz on a Summer's Day]]'', documenting a performance at the 1958 [[Newport Jazz Festival]].

===Partnerships===
====Charles Mingus====
[[Charles Mingus]] had known Dolphy from growing up in Los Angeles,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://downbeat.com/news/detail/eric-dolphy-the-prophet-of-freedom/P1 |title=Eric Dolphy: The 'Prophet' of Freedom |last=Lutz |first=Phillip |website=Downbeat.com |date=December 17, 2018 |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627034858/https://downbeat.com/news/detail/eric-dolphy-the-prophet-of-freedom/P1 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the younger man joined Mingus' Jazz Workshop in 1960, shortly after arriving in New York.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dunkel | first = Mario | title = Aesthetics of Resistance: Charles Mingus and the Civil Rights Movement | publisher =LIT Verlag | year = 2012 | pages=56 }}</ref> He took part in Mingus' big band recording ''[[Pre-Bird]]'' (sometimes re-released as ''Mingus Revisited''), and is featured on "Bemoanable Lady".<ref>{{cite book | editor-first1=Michael |editor-last1=Erlewine | editor-first2=Vladimir |editor-last2=Bogdanov |editor-first3=Chris |editor-last3=Woodstra |editor-first4=Scott |editor-last4=Yanow |title=All Music Guide to Jazz |edition=2nd |publisher=Miller Freeman | year=1996|page=514}}</ref> Later he joined Mingus' working band at the Showplace during 1960 (memorialized in the poem "Mingus at the Showplace" by [[William Matthews (poet)|William Matthews]]),<ref>{{cite book | last = Matthews | first = William | author-link = William Matthews (poet) | title = Time and Money: New Poems | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1995 | pages=5 }}</ref> and appeared on the leader's two Candid label albums, ''[[Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus]]'' and ''[[Mingus (Charles Mingus album)|Mingus]]''.  Dolphy, Mingus said, "was a complete musician. He could fit anywhere. He was a fine lead alto in a big band. He could make it in a classical group. And, of course, he was entirely his own man when he soloed.... He had mastered jazz. And he had mastered all the instruments he played. In fact, he knew more than was supposed to be possible to do on them."<ref name="limelight">{{cite AV media notes |title=[[Last Date (Eric Dolphy album)|Last Date]] |others=Eric Dolphy |type=liner notes |year=1964 |publisher=[[Limelight Records|Limelight]] }}</ref> In the same year, Dolphy took part in the Mingus led Jazz Artist Guild project and its [[Newport Rebels]] recording session.<ref>{{cite book | last = Goodman | first = John | title = Mingus Speaks | publisher = University of California Press | year = 2013 | pages=208 }}</ref> 

Touring in Europe with Mingus in 1961, Dolphy continued on to perform as a solo artist, and he was recorded in Scandinavia and [[Berlin]]. (See ''[[The Berlin Concerts]]'', ''[[The Complete Uppsala Concert]]'', ''[[Eric Dolphy in Europe]]'' Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (1 and 3 were also released as ''Copenhagen Concert''), and ''[[Stockholm Sessions]]''.<ref>{{cite book | editor-first1=Michael |editor-last1=Erlewine | editor-first2=Vladimir |editor-last2=Bogdanov |editor-first3=Chris |editor-last3=Woodstra |editor-first4=Scott |editor-last4=Yanow |title=All Music Guide to Jazz |edition=2nd |publisher=Miller Freeman | year=1996|page=206}}</ref>) He was later among the musicians who worked on ''[[Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus]]'' in 1963, and is featured on "Hora Decubitus".

In early 1964, Dolphy returned to Mingus' working band,<ref name="feather" /> now including [[Jaki Byard]], [[Johnny Coles]], and [[Clifford Jordan]]. This sextet worked at the [[Five Spot]] before playing at [[Cornell University]] and [[The Town Hall (New York City)|Town Hall]] in New York (both were recorded: ''[[Cornell 1964]]'' and ''[[Town Hall Concert]]'') and subsequently touring Europe. The short tour is well-documented on ''[[Revenge! (Charles Mingus album)|Revenge!]]'', ''[[The Great Concert of Charles Mingus]]'', ''[[Mingus in Europe Volume I]]'', and ''[[Mingus in Europe Volume II]]''.

====John Coltrane====
Dolphy and [[John Coltrane]] knew each other long before they formally played together, having met when Coltrane was in Los Angeles with [[Johnny Hodges]] in 1954.<ref>{{cite book | last = Porter | first = Lewis | author-link = Lewis Porter | title = John Coltrane: His Life and Music | publisher = The University of Michigan Press | year = 1999 | pages=94 }}</ref><ref name="Ratliff 2007 68">{{cite book | last = Ratliff | first = Ben | author-link = Ben Ratliff | title = Coltrane: The Story of a Sound | publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux | year = 2007 | pages=68 }}</ref> They would often exchange ideas and learn from each other,<ref name="thomas_80">{{cite book | last1=Thomas|first1=Lorenzo| last2=Nielsen|first2=Aldon|title=Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor |year=2008 | pages=80 }}</ref> and eventually, after many nights sitting in with Coltrane's band, Dolphy was asked to become a full member in early 1961.<ref>{{cite book | last = Porter | first = Lewis | author-link = Lewis Porter | title = John Coltrane: His Life and Music | publisher = The University of Michigan Press | year = 1999 | pages=192 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Thomas | first = J.C. | title = Chasin' the Trane | publisher = Da Capo Press | year = 1975 | pages=142 }}</ref> Coltrane had gained an audience and critical notice with [[Miles Davis]]'s quintet, but alienated some leading jazz critics when he began to move away from [[hard bop]]. Although Coltrane's quintets with Dolphy (including the ''[[The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings|Village Vanguard]]'' and ''[[Africa/Brass]]'' sessions) are now accepted, they originally provoked ''[[DownBeat]]'' magazine to brand Coltrane and Dolphy's music as 'anti-jazz'. Coltrane later said of this criticism: "they made it appear that we didn't even know the first thing about music (...) it hurt me to see [Dolphy] get hurt in this thing."<ref name="Kofsky">{{cite book| first= Eric| last= Dolphy| interviewer= [[Frank Kofsky]] | title= Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music| year= 1973| page= 242| publisher= University of Pittsburgh }}</ref>

The initial release of Coltrane's residency at the Vanguard selected [[Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard|three tracks]], only one of which featured Dolphy. After being issued haphazardly over the next 30 years, a comprehensive [[box-set]] featuring the music recorded at the Vanguard was released on ''[[Impulse! Records|Impulse!]]'' in 1997, called ''[[The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings]]''. The set features Dolphy heavily on both alto saxophone and bass clarinet, with Dolphy the featured soloist on their renditions of "[[Naima]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-1961-village-vanguard-recordings-mw0000026678 |title=John Coltrane: Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings |last=Jurek |first=Thom |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927164419/https://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-1961-village-vanguard-recordings-mw0000026678 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2001 [[Pablo Records|Pablo]] box set, drawing on recordings of Coltrane's performances from his European tours of the early 1960s, features tunes absent from the 1961 Village Vanguard material, such as "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]", which Dolphy performs on flute.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-trane-the-european-tours-mw0000591728 |title=John Coltrane: Live Trane: The European Tours |last=Dryden |first=Ken |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

====Booker Little====
Trumpeter [[Booker Little]] and Dolphy had a short-lived musical partnership.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-at-100-hour-71-silenced-in-their-prime-eric-dolphy-and-booker-little-1961-1964-eric-dolphy |title=Silenced In Their Prime – Eric Dolphy & Booker Little (1961–1964) |last=Perry |first=Russell |date=February 4, 2020 |website=AllAboutJazz.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627070012/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-at-100-hour-71-silenced-in-their-prime-eric-dolphy-and-booker-little-1961-1964-eric-dolphy |url-status=live }}</ref> Little's leader date for [[Candid Records|Candid]], ''[[Out Front (Booker Little album)|Out Front]]'', featured Dolphy mainly on alto sax, though he played bass clarinet and flute on some ensemble passages. In addition, Dolphy's album ''[[Far Cry (album)|Far Cry]]'', recorded for [[Prestige Records|Prestige]], features Little on five tunes (one of which, "Serene", was not included on the original LP release).

Dolphy and Little also co-led a quintet at the Five Spot during 1961. The rhythm section consisted of [[Richard Davis (double bassist)|Richard Davis]], [[Mal Waldron]] and [[Ed Blackwell]].<ref name="baker" /> One night was documented and has been released as ''[[At the Five Spot]]'' (plus a ''Memorial Album'') as well as the compilation ''[[Here and There (Eric Dolphy album)|Here and There]]''. In addition, both Dolphy and Little backed [[Abbey Lincoln]] on her album ''[[Straight Ahead (Abbey Lincoln album)|Straight Ahead]]'' and played on [[Max Roach]]'s ''[[Percussion Bitter Sweet]]''. Little died at the age of 23 in October 1961.

====Others====
Dolphy also performed on key recordings by [[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]] (''[[Ezz-thetics]]''), [[Oliver Nelson]] (''[[Screamin' the Blues]]'', ''[[The Blues and the Abstract Truth]]'', and ''[[Straight Ahead (Oliver Nelson album)|Straight Ahead]]''), and [[Ornette Coleman]] (''[[Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation]]'' and the ''Free Jazz'' outtake on ''[[Twins (Ornette Coleman album)|Twins]]''). He also worked and recorded with [[Gunther Schuller]] (''[[Jazz Abstractions]]''), multi-instrumentalist [[Makanda Ken McIntyre|Ken McIntyre]] (''[[Looking Ahead (Makanda Ken McIntyre album)|Looking Ahead]]''), bassist [[Ron Carter]] (''[[Where? (album)|Where?]]''), and pianist [[Mal Waldron]] (''[[The Quest (Mal Waldron album)|The Quest]]'').

===As a leader===
Dolphy's recording career as a leader began with [[Prestige Records|Prestige]]. His association with the label spanned 13 albums recorded from April 1960 to September 1961, though he was not the leader for all of the sessions. [[Fantasy Records|Fantasy]] released a 9-CD box set in 1995 containing all of Dolphy's recorded output for Prestige.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-prestige-recordings-mw0000178319 |title=Eric Dolphy: The Complete Prestige Recordings |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101115442/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-prestige-recordings-mw0000178319 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dolphy's first two albums as leader were ''[[Outward Bound (Eric Dolphy album)|Outward Bound]]'' and ''[[Out There (Eric Dolphy album)|Out There]]''; both featured cover artwork by [[Richard Slater Jennings|Richard "Prophet" Jennings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flophousemagazine.com/tag/richard-prophet-jennings |title=Richard "Prophet" Jennings |last=van de Linde |first=François |website=FlopHouseMagazine.com |date=April 21, 2016 |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814001513/http://flophousemagazine.com/tag/richard-prophet-jennings/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="baker" /> The first, sounding closer to hard bop than some later releases,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/outward-bound-mw0000649482 |title=Eric Dolphy Quintet / Eric Dolphy: Outward Bound |last=Rovi Staff |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030055422/https://www.allmusic.com/album/outward-bound-mw0000649482 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outward-bound-eric-dolphy-prestige-records-review-by-j-hunter.php |title=Eric Dolphy Quintet: Outward Bound |last=Hunter |first=J |date=November 14, 2006 |website=AllAboutJazz.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628132207/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outward-bound-eric-dolphy-prestige-records-review-by-j-hunter.php |url-status=live }}</ref> was recorded at [[Rudy Van Gelder]]'s studio in New Jersey with trumpeter [[Freddie Hubbard]], who shared rooms with Dolphy for a time when the two men first arrived in New York.<ref>{{cite book | last = Yanow | first = Scott | author-link = Scott Yanow | title = The Trumpet Kings: The Players who Shaped the Sound of Jazz Trumpet | publisher = Backbeat Books | year = 2001 | pages=195 }}</ref> The album features three Dolphy compositions: "G.W.", dedicated to [[Gerald Wilson]], and the blues "Les" and "245". ''Out There'' is closer to [[third stream]] music,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/hdp2 |title=Eric Dolphy Out There Review |last=Marsh |first=Peter |date=2002 |website=BBC.co.uk |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108034931/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/hdp2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which would also form part of Dolphy's work, and features [[Ron Carter]] on cello. [[Charles Mingus]]'s "Eclipse" from this album is one of the rare instances where Dolphy solos on [[soprano clarinet]] (others being "Warm Canto" from [[Mal Waldron]]'s ''[[The Quest (Mal Waldron album)|The Quest]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quest-mw0000078389 |title=Eric Dolphy / Booker Ervin / Mal Waldron: The Quest |last=Yanow |first=Scott |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629023404/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quest-mw0000078389 |url-status=live }}</ref> "Densities" from the compilation ''[[Vintage Dolphy]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vintage-dolphy-mw0000193773 |title=Eric Dolphy / Vintage Dolphy |last=Yanow |first=Scott |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref> and "Song For The Ram's Horn" from an unreleased recording from a 1962 Town Hall concert).

Dolphy occasionally recorded unaccompanied saxophone solos;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jazztimes.com/archives/solo-saxophone-flights |title=Solo Saxophone Flights |last=Shoemaker |first=Bill |date=April 25, 2019 |website=JazzTimes.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630035149/https://jazztimes.com/archives/solo-saxophone-flights/ |url-status=live }}</ref> his only predecessors were the tenor players [[Coleman Hawkins]] ("Picasso", 1948)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/coleman-hawkins-mn0000776363/biography |title=Coleman Hawkins |last=Yannow |first=Scott |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429082159/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/coleman-hawkins-mn0000776363/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Sonny Rollins]] (for example, "Body and Soul", 1958),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonny-rollins-and-the-big-brass-mw0000047321 |title=Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass |last=Dryden |first=Ken |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423015200/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonny-rollins-and-the-big-brass-mw0000047321 |url-status=live }}</ref> making Dolphy the first to do so on alto. The album ''Far Cry'' contains his performance of the [[Walter Gross (musician)|Gross]]-[[Jack Lawrence (songwriter)|Lawrence]] standard "[[Tenderly]]" on alto saxophone,<ref>{{cite thesis |type=DMus |last=Branter |first=David |date=2008 |title=Melody Retained and Sound Explored: Elements of Structure and Expression in the Unaccompanied Alto Saxophone Performances of Eric Dolphy |publisher=Indiana University}}</ref> and, on his subsequent tour of Europe, [[Billie Holiday]]'s "[[God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)|God Bless the Child]]" was featured in his sets.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jannotta |first=Roger |date=1977 |title='God Bless the Child:' An Analysis of an Unaccompanied Bass Clarinet Solo by Eric Dolphy |journal=Jazzforschung/Jazz Research |issue=9 |pages=37–48 }}</ref> (The earliest known version was recorded at the Five Spot during his residency with [[Booker Little]].) He also recorded two takes of a short solo rendition of "Love Me" in 1963, released on ''Conversations'' and ''Muses''.

[[Twentieth century classical music|Twentieth-century classical music]] was also part of Dolphy's musical career. He was very familiar with the music of composers such as [[Anton Webern]] and [[Alban Berg]],<ref name="thomas_80" /> had a large record collection that included music by these composers, as well as by [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], and [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]],<ref>{{cite book | last1=Thomas|first1=Lorenzo| last2=Nielsen|first2=Aldon|title=Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor |year=2008 | pages=77 }}</ref> and owned scores by composers such as [[Milton Babbitt]], [[Donald Erb]], [[Charles Ives]], and [[Olivier Messiaen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=1&_jump=ed01 |title=Eric Dolphy collection, 1939–1964 |website=loc.gov |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212332/https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=1&_jump=ed01 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=126&_lines=125 |title=Eric Dolphy collection, 1939–1964 |website=loc.gov |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205557/https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=126&_lines=125 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-james-newton |title=Interview with James Newton |last=Iverson |first=Ethan |website=EthanIverson.com |date=6 June 2017 |access-date=July 6, 2021 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711184800/https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-james-newton/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He visited [[Edgard Varèse]] at his home,<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions |others=Eric Dolphy |type=liner notes |last=Davis |first=Richard |year=2019 |publisher=Resonance Records |pages=46 |id=HCD-2035}}</ref> and performed the composer's ''[[Density 21.5]]'' for solo flute at the [[Ojai Music Festival]] in 1962.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| first= Barry Dean| last= Kernfeld| title= New Grove Dictionary of Jazz| page= 632| year= 2002| publisher= Macmillan |isbn= 0-333-69189-X}}</ref> Dolphy also participated in [[Gunther Schuller]]'s and [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]]'s [[Third Stream]] efforts of the 1960s, appearing on the album ''[[Jazz Abstractions]]'', and admired the Italian flute virtuoso [[Severino Gazzelloni]], after whom he named his composition ''Gazzelloni''.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Stephans|first1=Michael| title=Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion | publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] | year=2013 | pages=235 }}</ref>

Around 1962–63, one of Dolphy's working bands included the pianist [[Herbie Hancock]], who can be heard on ''[[The Illinois Concert]]'', ''Gaslight 1962'', and the unissued Town Hall concert with poet [[Ree Dragonette]].

In July 1963, producer [[Alan Douglas (record producer)|Alan Douglas]] arranged recording sessions for which Dolphy's sidemen were emerging musicians of the day, and the results produced the albums ''[[Iron Man (Eric Dolphy album)|Iron Man]]'' and ''[[Conversations (Eric Dolphy album)|Conversations]]'', as well as the ''Muses'' album released in Japan in late 2013. These sessions marked the first time Dolphy played with [[Bobby Hutcherson]], whom he knew from Los Angeles, and whose sister he dated at one point.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/arts/music/bobby-hutcherson-dies-jazz.html |title=Bobby Hutcherson, Vibraphonist With Coloristic Range of Sound, Dies at 75 |last=Chinen |first=Nate |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160816072024/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/arts/music/bobby-hutcherson-dies-jazz.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> The sessions are perhaps best known for the three duets Dolphy performs with bassist [[Richard Davis (double bassist)|Richard Davis]] on "Alone Together", "Ode To Charlie Parker", and "Come Sunday"; the aforementioned release ''Muses'' adds another take of "Alone Together" and an original composition for duet from which the album takes its name.

In 1964, Dolphy signed with [[Blue Note Records]] and recorded ''[[Out to Lunch!]]'' with [[Freddie Hubbard]], [[Bobby Hutcherson]], [[Richard Davis (double bassist)|Richard Davis]] and [[Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams]]. This album features Dolphy's fully developed avant-garde yet structured compositional style rooted in tradition. It is often considered his ''magnum opus''.<ref name="Huey">{{cite web |last1=Huey |first1=Steve |title=Out to Lunch |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/out-to-lunch-mw0000241418 |website=AllMusic |access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref>

=== European career ===
After ''[[Out to Lunch!]]'' and an appearance on pianist/composer [[Andrew Hill (jazz musician)|Andrew Hill]]'s Blue Note album ''[[Point of Departure (Andrew Hill album)|Point of Departure]]'', Dolphy left for Europe with Charles Mingus' sextet in early 1964. Before a concert in [[Oslo]], Norway, he informed Mingus that he planned to stay in Europe after their tour was finished, partly because he had become disillusioned with the United States' reception of musicians who were trying something new. Mingus then named the blues they had been performing "So Long Eric". Dolphy intended to settle in Europe with his fiancée Joyce Mordecai, who was working in the ballet scene in [[Paris]], France.<ref name= Ratliff /> After leaving Mingus, he performed and recorded a few sides with various European bands, and American musicians living in Paris, such as [[Donald Byrd]] and [[Nathan Davis (saxophonist)|Nathan Davis]]. ''[[Last Date (Eric Dolphy album)|Last Date]]'', originally a radio broadcast of a concert in [[Hilversum]] in the Netherlands, features [[Misha Mengelberg]] and [[Han Bennink]], although it was not Dolphy's last public performance. Dolphy was also planning to join [[Albert Ayler]]'s group,<ref name= sparked /> and, according to Jeanne Phillips, quoted in [[A. B. Spellman]]'s ''Four Jazz Lives'', was preparing himself to play with [[Cecil Taylor]].<ref>{{cite book | last =Spellman | first =A.B. | author-link = A. B. Spellman | title =Four Jazz Lives | publisher =University of Michigan Press | year = 2004 | pages=15 | quote=Eric had all Cecil's records, and his whole thing is that he wanted to play with Cecil. Eric... used to say, 'I think I'm learning how to play with Cecil.' He kept on saying this to me because he didn't feel like he could say it to Cecil... It was the weirdest thing. Before Eric went to Europe, he told me about a dream he had had. He dreamt he was on the bandstand with Cecil and another clarinet player... he was waiting for his turn to play. He said he kept saying to himself, 'At last, I'm going to play with Cecil.' And before he could play, he fell down dead on the bandstand. This was the last time I talked to him before he went to Europe, and the next thing I heard, Eric had died of a heart attack on the stage in Berlin. It was the weirdest thing.}}</ref> He also planned to form a band with [[Woody Shaw]], Richard Davis, and [[Billy Higgins]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/impressions-of-eric-dolphy-eric-dolphy-by-clifford-allen.php |title=Impressions Of Eric Dolphy |last=Allen |first=Clifford |date=March 12, 2008 |website=All About Jazz |access-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109021742/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/impressions-of-eric-dolphy-eric-dolphy-by-clifford-allen.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and was writing a [[string quartet]], ''Love Suite''.<ref name="baker" />

==Personal life and death==
Dolphy was engaged to marry Joyce Mordecai, a classically trained dancer who lived in Paris.<ref name= Ratliff /> He did not smoke<ref name="sparked" /> and did not use drugs or alcohol.<ref name="sparked" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Miles|first=Milo|title=Young Saint with a Horn|work=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|date=1 May 1996|url=https://www.salon.com/1996/05/01/dolphy/|access-date=11 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728131457/http://www.salon.com/1996/05/01/dolphy/|archive-date=28 July 2017}}</ref>

Before he left for Europe in 1964, Dolphy left papers and other effects with his friends [[Hale Smith]] and Juanita Smith. Eventually much of this material was passed on to the musician [[James Newton]].<ref name= Ratliff /> It was announced in May 2014 that six boxes of music papers had been donated to the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name= Ratliff /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2014565637/?loclr=blognls |title=Eric Dolphy collection |website=loc.gov |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625224713/https://www.loc.gov/item/2014565637/?loclr=blognls |url-status=live }}</ref>

On June 27, 1964, Dolphy traveled to [[West Berlin]] to play with a trio led by [[Karl Berger]] at the opening of a jazz club called The Tangent.<ref name="bio85">{{cite book | last1 =Simosko | first1 =Vladimir | last2=Tepperman |first2=Barry | title =Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography & Discography | publisher =Da Capo | year =1971 | page=3 }}</ref> He was apparently seriously ill when he arrived, and during the first concert was barely able to play. He was hospitalized that night, but his condition worsened.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/02/06/husband-and-wife-pianists-schlippenbach-and-takase-salute-eric-dolphy |title=Husband-and-wife pianists Schlippenbach and Takase salute Eric Dolphy |last=Margasak |first=Peter |date=February 6, 2015 |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107210734/http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/02/06/husband-and-wife-pianists-schlippenbach-and-takase-salute-eric-dolphy |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 29, Dolphy died after falling into a [[diabetic coma]]. While certain details of his death are still disputed, it is largely accepted that he fell into a coma caused by undiagnosed diabetes. The liner notes to the ''Complete Prestige Recordings'' box set say that Dolphy "collapsed in his hotel room in Berlin and when brought to the hospital he was diagnosed as being in a diabetic coma. After being administered a shot of [[insulin]] he lapsed into [[insulin shock]] and died". A later documentary and liner notes dispute this, saying Dolphy collapsed on stage in Berlin and was brought to a hospital. Allegedly, the attending hospital physicians did not know Dolphy was a diabetic and assumed, based on a stereotype of jazz musicians, that he had overdosed on drugs.<ref name="sparked" /> In this account, he was left in a hospital bed for the drugs to run their course.<ref>{{cite AV media| last1= Hylkema| first1= Hans| last2= Bruneau| first2= Thierry| url= https://blowpipe.bandcamp.com/album/last-date| title= Eric Dolphy: Last Date| format= video| publisher= Rhapsody Films| year= 1991| access-date= 2019-05-09| archive-date= 2019-05-09| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190509201356/https://blowpipe.bandcamp.com/album/last-date| url-status= live}}</ref> [[Ted Curson]] recalled the following: "That really broke me up. When Eric got sick on that date [in Berlin], and him being black and a jazz musician, they thought he was a [[Addiction|junkie]]. Eric didn't use any drugs. He was a diabetic—all they had to do was take a blood test and they would have found that out. So he died for nothing. They gave him some detox stuff and he died, and nobody ever went into that club in Berlin again. That was the end of that club."<ref>''[[Stop Smiling]]'' magazine, Jazz Issue</ref> Shortly after Dolphy's death, Curson recorded and released ''[[Tears for Dolphy]]'', featuring a title track that served as an elegy for his friend.

Charles Mingus remarked of Dolphy shortly after his death that "Usually, when a man dies, you remember—or you say you remember—only the good things about him. With Eric, that's all you could remember. I don't remember any drags he did to anybody. The man was absolutely without a need to hurt."<ref name="limelight" />

Dolphy is buried in [[Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery]] in Los Angeles. His headstone bears the inscription: "He Lives In His Music."<ref>{{cite book | last1=Thomas|first1=Lorenzo| last2=Nielsen|first2=Aldon|title=Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor |year=2008 | pages=84 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
John Coltrane acknowledged Dolphy's influence in a 1962 ''[[DownBeat]]'' interview, stating: "After he sat in... We began to play some of the things we had only talked about before. Since he's been in the band, he's had a broadening effect on us. There are a lot of things we try now that we never tried before. This helped me... We're playing things that are freer than before."<ref>{{cite journal |last=DeMicheal |first=Don |date=April 12, 1962 |title=John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy Answer the Jazz Critics |journal=DownBeat |pages=21–22 }}</ref> Coltrane biographer [[Eric Nisenson]] stated: "Dolphy's effect on Coltrane ran deep. Coltrane's solos became far more adventurous, using musical concepts that without the chemistry of Dolphy's advanced style he might have kept away from the ears of his public."<ref>{{cite book | last = Nisenson | first = Eric |title =Ascension: John Coltrane And His Quest | publisher =Da Capo | year =2009 | pages=117–118 }}</ref> In his book ''Free Jazz'', Ekkehard Jost provided specific examples of how Coltrane's playing began to change during the time he spent with Dolphy, noting that Coltrane started using wider melodic intervals like sixths and sevenths, and began focusing on integrating sound coloration and multiphonics into his solos.<ref>{{cite book | last =Jost | first =Ekkehard | title =Free Jazz | publisher =Da Capo| year =1994 | pages=29–30 }}</ref> Jost contrasted Coltrane's solo on "India", recorded in November 1961 while Dolphy was with the group, and released on ''[[Impressions (John Coltrane album)|Impressions]]'', with his solo on "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]", recorded roughly a year earlier, and released on the [[My Favorite Things (John Coltrane album)|Atlantic album]],<ref>{{cite book | last =Jost | first =Ekkehard | title =Free Jazz | publisher =Da Capo| year =1994 | pages=28–29 }}</ref> and observed that on "My Favorite Things", Coltrane "accepted the mode as more or less binding, occasionally aiming away from it... at tones foreign to the scale,"<ref name="jost_29">{{cite book | last =Jost | first =Ekkehard | title =Free Jazz | publisher =Da Capo| year =1994 | pages=29 }}</ref> whereas on "India", Coltrane, like Dolphy, played "''around'' the mode more than ''in'' it."<ref name="jost_29" />

Dolphy's musical presence was also influential to many young jazz musicians who would later become prominent. Dolphy worked intermittently with [[Ron Carter]] and [[Freddie Hubbard]] throughout his career, and in later years he hired [[Herbie Hancock]], [[Bobby Hutcherson]] and [[Woody Shaw]] to work in his live and studio bands. ''[[Out to Lunch!]]'' featured yet another young performer, drummer [[Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams]], and Dolphy's participation on Hill's ''[[Point of Departure (Andrew Hill album)|Point of Departure]]'' session brought him into contact with the tenor player [[Joe Henderson]].

There is a [[Le_Moyne_College#Dolphy_Day|celebration held at Le Moyne College]] based on a Frank Zappa song, "[[Weasels Ripped My Flesh|The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue]]," inspired by him. 

Carter, Hancock and Williams would go on to become one of the quintessential rhythm sections of the decade, both together on their own albums and as the backbone of [[Miles Davis]]'s [[Miles Davis Quintet#Second Great Quintet|second great quintet]]. This aspect of the second great quintet is an ironic footnote for Davis, who was critical of Dolphy's music: in a 1964 ''DownBeat'' "Blindfold Test", Miles quipped: "The next time I see [Dolphy] I'm going to step on his foot."<ref>{{cite journal| last= Feather| first= Leonard| url= http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_3.html| title= 3rd Blindfold Test Miles Davis| via= forghieri.net| journal= Down Beat| volume= 58| number= 12| date= December 1991| page= 69| publisher= first published June 1964| access-date= 3 March 2020| archive-date= 22 February 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200222215329/http://www.forghieri.net/jazz/blind/Davis_3.html| url-status= live}}</ref> However, Davis new quintet's rhythm section had all worked under Dolphy, thus creating a band whose brand of "[[Outside (jazz)|out]]" was strongly influenced by Dolphy.

Dolphy's virtuoso instrumental abilities and unique style of jazz, deeply emotional and free but strongly rooted in tradition and structured composition, heavily influenced such musicians as [[Anthony Braxton]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/anthony-braxton-the-complete-arista-recordings-by-clifford-allen.php |title=Anthony Braxton: Anthony Braxton: The Complete Arista Recordings |last=Allen |first=Clifford |date=January 19, 2009 |website=AllAboutJazz.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629223009/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/anthony-braxton-the-complete-arista-recordings-by-clifford-allen.php |url-status=live }}</ref> members of the [[Art Ensemble of Chicago]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/07/arts/critics-choices-151659.html|title=Critics' Choices: Jazz|last=Palmer|first=Robert|date=February 7, 1982|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 26, 2020|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627002512/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/07/arts/critics-choices-151659.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Oliver Lake]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/15/arts/jazz-oliver-lake-quartet.html |title=Jazz: Oliver Lake Quartet |last=Pareles |first=Jon | date=January 15, 1987  | website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref> [[Arthur Blythe]],<ref>{{cite book | last = Jenkins | first = Todd |  title = Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1 | publisher = Greenwood | year = 2004 | pages=xlii }}</ref> [[Don Byron]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://legacy.npr.org/programs/btaylor/pastprograms/dbyron.html |title=Jazz: Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center: Don Byron | website=NPR.org |access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref> and [[Evan Parker]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Corbett | first =John | author-link = John Corbett (writer) |title =Microgroove: Forays into Other Music | publisher =Duke University Press | year = 2015 | pages=293 |quote=I think the idea of trying to make the instrument speak in three different registers simultaneously, have the whole horn speak at the same time, came from trying to deal with Dolphy. But... Dolphy's style is so unique that if you are playing like Dolphy there's nothing more obvious. It's a tradition that should be extended, because in a way it's the natural extension of Charlie Parker. It's a shame that in terms of the linear development of alto playing, that seems not to have been taken further. It is phenomenally difficult to go beyond it. }}</ref>

==Awards, honors, and tributes==
Dolphy was posthumously inducted into the ''DownBeat'' magazine Hall of Fame in 1964.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://downbeat.com/archives/detail/downbeat-hall-of-fame |title=DownBeat Hall of Fame |last=Downbeat |website=Downbeat.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127123628/http://downbeat.com/archives/detail/downbeat-hall-of-fame |url-status=live }}</ref> [[John Coltrane]] paid tribute to Dolphy in an interview: "Whatever I'd say would be an understatement. I can only say my life was made much better by knowing him. He was one of the greatest people I've ever known, as a man, a friend, and a musician."<ref>{{cite book| title= Coltrane On Coltrane| year= 2010| publisher= Chicago Review Press| first= John |last= Coltrane| editor= Chris DeVito | isbn= 9781569762875}}</ref> After Dolphy died, his mother gave Coltrane his flute and bass clarinet, and Coltrane, who traveled with Dolphy's photograph, hanging it on his hotel room walls,<ref name="Ratliff 2007 68"/> proceeded to play the instruments on several subsequent recordings.<ref>{{cite book | last = Porter | first = Lewis | author-link = Lewis Porter | title = John Coltrane: His Life and Music | publisher = The University of Michigan Press | year = 1999 | pages=273 }}</ref>

[[Frank Zappa]] acknowledged Dolphy as a musical influence in the liner notes to the 1966 album ''[[Freak Out!]]''<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Freak Out! |author=[[The Mothers of Invention]] |type=liner notes |year=1966 |publisher=[[Verve Records]] }}</ref> and included a Dolphy tribute entitled "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" on his 1970 album ''[[Weasels Ripped My Flesh]]''.

Pianist [[Geri Allen]] analyzed Dolphy's music for her master's thesis at the [[University of Pittsburgh]],<ref>{{cite thesis |type=MA |last=Allen |first=Geri |date=1983 |title=A Musical Analysis of Three Pieces with a Brief Biography |publisher=University of Pittsburgh}}</ref> and paid tribute to Dolphy in tunes like "Dolphy's Dance," recorded and released on her 1992 album ''[[Maroons (album)|Maroons]]''.<ref name="Lutz">{{cite web |url=https://downbeat.com/news/detail/eric-dolphy-the-prophet-of-freedom/P2 |title=Eric Dolphy: The 'Prophet' of Freedom |last=Lutz |first=Phillip |website=Downbeat.com |date=December 17, 2018|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

In 1989, [[Po Torch]] Records released an album titled "The Ericle of Dolphi," featuring [[Evan Parker]], [[Paul Rutherford (trombonist)|Paul Rutherford]], [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]], and [[Paul Lovens]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://efi.group.shef.ac.uk/labels/potorch/ptrjwd13.html |title=Po Torch Records PTR/JWD 13/14 The ericle of Dolphi |website=Po Torch discography |access-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607084753/http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/labels/potorch/ptrjwd13.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1997, the [[Vienna Art Orchestra]] released ''Powerful Ways: Nine Immortal Non-evergreens for Eric Dolphy'' as part of its 20th anniversary box-set.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/poweful-ways-nine-immortal-evergreens-for-eric-dolphy-mw0001246070 |title=Vienna Art Orchestra: Powerful Ways: Nine Immortal Evergreens for Eric Dolphy |last=Olewnick |first=Brian |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629070134/https://www.allmusic.com/album/poweful-ways-nine-immortal-evergreens-for-eric-dolphy-mw0001246070 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2003, to mark what would have been Dolphy's 75th birthday, a performance was made in his honor of an original composition by [[Phil Ranelin]] at the [[William Grant Still|William Grant Still Arts Center]] in Dolphy's hometown Los Angeles.<ref name= imagining>{{cite news| url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-27-et-heckman27-story.html| work= [[Los Angeles Times]]| title= Imagining the melodies that might have been| first= Don| last= Heckman| date= 27 June 2003| access-date= 3 March 2020| archive-date= 4 March 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200304011857/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-27-et-heckman27-story.html| url-status= live}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors]] designated June 20 as Eric Dolphy Day.<ref name= imagining />

In 2014, marking 50 years since Dolphy's death, Berlin-based pianists [[Alexander von Schlippenbach]] and [[Aki Takase]] led a project called ''[[So Long, Eric!]]'', celebrating Dolphy's music and featuring musicians such as [[Han Bennink]], [[Karl Berger]], [[Tobias Delius]], [[Axel Dörner]], and [[Rudi Mahall]]. That year also saw a Dolphy tribute by a Berlin-based group led by [[Gebhard Ullmann]], who had previously founded a quartet named ''Out to Lunch'' in 1983.<ref name="Lutz"/> In the United States, the arts group ''Seed Artists'' presented a two-day festival entitled ''Eric Dolphy: Freedom of Sound'' in [[Montclair, New Jersey|Montclair]], New Jersey, that year.<ref name="Ratliff" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.seedartists.org/events |title=Seed Artists: Past Events |website=SeedArtists.org |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629230652/https://www.seedartists.org/events |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dolphy's compositions are the inspiration for many tribute albums, including [[Oliver Lake]]'s ''[[Prophet (Oliver Lake album)|Prophet]]'' and ''[[Dedicated to Dolphy]]'', [[Jerome Harris]]' ''Hidden In Plain View'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hidden-in-plain-view-mw0000175508 |title=Jerome Harris: Hidden in Plain View |last=Nastos |first=Michael |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227083833/http://www.allmusic.com/album/hidden-in-plain-view-mw0000175508 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Otomo Yoshihide]]'s re-imagining of ''Out to Lunch!'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/out-to-lunch-mw0001444979 |title=Otomo Yoshihide: Out to Lunch |last=Lynch |first=Dave |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126150942/https://www.allmusic.com/album/out-to-lunch-mw0001444979 |url-status=live }}</ref> Silke Eberhard's ''Potsa Lotsa: The Complete Works of Eric Dolphy'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-works-of-eric-dolphy-mw0002096044 |title=Silke Eberhard / Potsa Lotsa: The Complete Works of Eric Dolphy |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref> and [[Aki Takase]] and [[Rudi Mahall]]'s duo album ''Duet For Eric Dolphy''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/duet-for-eric-dolphy-mw0000517071|title=Aki Takase: Duet for Eric Dolphy |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref>

The ballad "Poor Eric", composed by pianist [[Larry Willis]] and appearing on [[Jackie McLean]]'s 1966  [[Right Now!&nbsp;(Jackie McLean album)|Right Now!]] album, is dedicated to Dolphy.

Dolphy was the subject of a 1991 documentary titled ''Last Date'', directed by Hans Hylkema, written by Hylkema and Thierry Bruneau, and produced by Akka Volta.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eric-dolphy-last-date-eric-dolphy-by-andrey-henkin.php |title=Eric Dolphy: Last Date |last=Henkin |first=Andrey |date=December 11, 2005 |website=All About Jazz |access-date=October 27, 2020 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031124131/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eric-dolphy-last-date-eric-dolphy-by-andrey-henkin.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 =Simosko | first1 =Vladimir | last2=Tepperman |first2=Barry | title =Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography & Discography | publisher =Da Capo | year =1971 | page=x }}</ref> The film includes video clips from Dolphy's television appearances, along with interviews with the members of the [[Misha Mengelberg]] trio, with whom Dolphy recorded in June 1964, as well as commentary from [[Buddy Collette]], [[Ted Curson]], [[Jaki Byard]], [[Gunther Schuller]], and [[Richard Davis (bassist)|Richard Davis]].

== Discography ==
=== Lifetime releases ( – June 1964) ===
* <!--April 1, -->1960: ''[[Outward Bound (Eric Dolphy album)|Outward Bound]]'' ([[Prestige Records|New Jazz]], 1960)
* <!--August 19, -->1960: ''[[Caribé]]'' with The Latin Jazz Quintet (New Jazz, 1961)
* <!--August 15, -->1960: ''[[Out There (Eric Dolphy album)|Out There]]'' (New Jazz, 1961)
* <!--December 21, -->1960: ''[[Far Cry (album)|Far Cry]]'' (New Jazz, 1962)
* <!--July 16, -->1961: ''[[At the Five Spot]], Vol. 1'' (New Jazz, 1961) – live
* <!--July 16, -->1961: ''[[At the Five Spot]], Vol. 2'' ([[Prestige Records|Prestige]], 1963) – live
* <!--July -->1963: ''[[Conversations (Eric Dolphy album)|Conversations]]'' ([[FM Records (Jazz/Folk)|FM]], 1963) – also released as ''Music Matador'' (Affinity)

=== Posthumous releases (July 1964 – )===
* 1959–60: ''Hot & Cool Latin'' (Blue Moon, 1996)
* 1960–<!--April -->61: ''Candid Dolphy'' ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1989) – alternate takes from sessions as a sideman
* 1960–<!--June -->61: ''Fire Waltz'' (Prestige, 1978)[2LP] – reissue of [[Makanda Ken McIntyre|Ken McIntyre]]'s ''[[Looking Ahead (Makanda Ken McIntyre album)|Looking Ahead]]'' (New Jazz, 1961) and [[Mal Waldron]]'s ''[[The Quest (Mal Waldron album)|The Quest]]'' (New Jazz, 1962)
* 1960–<!--July 16, -->61: ''[[Dash One]]'' (Prestige, 1982) – out-takes & previously unissued
* <!--July 16, -->1961: ''[[At the Five Spot|Memorial Album: Recorded Live At the Five Spot]]'' (Prestige, 1965) – live
* <!--August -->1961: ''[[The Berlin Concerts]]'' (enja, 1978) – live
* <!--September 4, -->1961: ''[[The Complete Uppsala Concert]]'' (Jazz Door, 1993) – initially unofficial
* 1960–<!--September 6, -->61: ''[[Here and There (Eric Dolphy album)|Here and There]]'' (Prestige, 1966) – live
* <!--September 6-8, -->1961: ''[[Eric Dolphy in Europe|Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 1]]'' (Prestige, 1964) – live
* <!--September 6-8, -->1961: ''[[Eric Dolphy in Europe|Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 2]]'' (Prestige, 1965) – live
* <!--September 6-8, -->1961: ''[[Eric Dolphy in Europe|Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 3]]'' (Prestige, 1965) – live. also released as ''Copenhagen Concert'' with ''Eric Dolphy in Europe, Vol. 1''.
* <!--September and November -->1961: ''[[Stockholm Sessions]]'' ([[Enja Records|Enja]], 1981)
* <!--December 1, -->1961: ''[[1961 (Eric Dolphy album)|1961]]'' (Jazz Connoisseur, ?) – live in Munich. also released as ''Live in Germany'' (Stash); ''Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise'' (Natasha Imports); ''Munich Jam Session December 1, 1961'' by Eric Dolphy Quartet with McCoy Tyner (RLR).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/5961541-Eric-Dolphy-Quartet-With-McCoy-Tyner-Munich-Jam-Session-December-1-1961 | title=Eric Dolphy Quartet with McCoy Tyner - Munich Jam Session December 1, 1961 | website=[[Discogs]] | year=2006 | access-date=May 19, 2023 | archive-date=May 13, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513182305/https://www.discogs.com/release/5961541-Eric-Dolphy-Quartet-With-McCoy-Tyner-Munich-Jam-Session-December-1-1961 | url-status=live }}</ref> 
* 1962: ''Eric Dolphy Quintet featuring Herbie Hancock: Complete Recordings'' (Lone Hill Jazz, 2004) – also released as ''Live In New York'' (Stash); ''Left Alone'' (Absord); ''Gaslight 1962'' (Get Back)
* <!--March -->1963: ''[[The Illinois Concert]]'' (Blue Note, 1999) – live
* 1962–<!--April -->63: ''[[Vintage Dolphy]]'' (GM Recordings/enja, 1986) – live
* <!-- July -->1963: ''[[Iron Man (Eric Dolphy album)|Iron Man]]'' (Douglas International, 1968) – both ''Conversations'' and ''Iron Man'' were released as ''Jitterbug Waltz''	(Douglas , 1976)[2LP]; ''Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions'' (Resonance, 2019)[3CD].
* 1964: ''[[Out to Lunch!]]'' (Blue Note, 1964)
* 1964: ''[[Last Date (Eric Dolphy album)|Last Date]]'' (Fontana, 1964) – for radio program at [[Hilversum]]
* 1964: ''[[Naima (Eric Dolphy album)|Naima]]'' (Jazzway/[[West Wind Records|West Wind]], 1988) – for [[Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française|ORTF]] radio program at [[Paris]]
* Compilation: ''[[Unrealized Tapes]]'' (West Wind) – recorded in 1964 for ORTF radio program at Paris. also released as ''Last Recordings'' and ''The Complete Last Recordings In Hilversum & Paris 1964'' (Domino).
* Compilation: ''[[Other Aspects]]'' ([[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]], 1987) – recorded in 1960 & 64

===As sideman===
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
'''With [[Ornette Coleman]]'''
* 1960: ''[[Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation]]'' (Atlantic, 1961)
* 1959–61: ''[[Twins (Ornette Coleman album)|Twins]]'' (Atlantic, 1971)

'''With [[John Coltrane]]'''
* ''[[Olé Coltrane]]'' (Atlantic, 1961)
* ''[[Africa/Brass]]'' (Impulse!, 1961)
* ''[[Live! at the Village Vanguard]]'' (Impulse!, 1962) – rec. 1961
* ''[[Impressions (John Coltrane album)|Impressions]]'' (Impulse!, 1963)
* ''[[The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings]]'' (Impulse!, 1997) – rec. 1961
* ''[[Live Trane: The European Tours]]'' (Pablo, 2001) – rec. 1961–63
* ''[[The Complete Copenhagen Concert]]'' (Magnetic, -)<br/>/''Complete 1961 Copenhagen Concert'' (Gambit, 2009) – rec. 1961
* ''[[So Many Things: The European Tour 1961]]'' (Acrobat, 2015) – rec. 1961
* ''[[Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy]]'' (Impulse!, 2023) – rec. 1961

'''With [[Chico Hamilton]]'''
* 1958: ''[[The Chico Hamilton Quintet with Strings Attached]]'' (Warner Bros., 1959)
* 1958:  ''[[Gongs East!]]'' (Warner Bros., 1959)
* 1958:  ''[[The Original Ellington Suite]]'' (Pacific Jazz, 2000)
* 1959: ''[[The Three Faces of Chico]]'' (Warner Bros., 1959)
* 1959: ''[[That Hamilton Man]]'' (SESAC, 1959)

'''With [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]]'''
* 1960: ''[[The Wonderful World of Jazz]]'' (Atlantic, 1961)
* 1960: ''[[Jazz Abstractions]]'' (Atlantic, 1961)
* 1960–62: ''[[Essence (John Lewis album)|Essence]]'' (Atlantic, 1965)

'''With [[Charles Mingus]]'''
* 1960: ''[[Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus]]'' ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1960)
* 1960: ''[[Pre-Bird]]'' (Mercury, 1961) – aka ''Mingus Revisited''
* 1960: ''[[Mingus (Charles Mingus album)|Mingus]]'' ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1961)
* 1960: ''[[Mingus at Antibes]]'' (Atlantic, 1976) – live
* 1962: ''[[The Complete Town Hall Concert]]'' (Blue Note, 1994) – live
* 1963: ''[[Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus]]'' (Impulse!, 1964)
* 1964: ''[[Town Hall Concert]]'' (Jazz Workshop, 1964) – live
* 1964: ''[[The Great Concert of Charles Mingus]]'' (America, 1971) – live
* 1964: ''[[Mingus in Europe Volume I]]'' (Enja, 1980) – live
* 1964: ''[[Mingus in Europe Volume II]]'' (Enja, 1983) – live
* 1964: ''[[Revenge! (Charles Mingus album)|Revenge!]]'' (Revenge, 1996) – live
* 1964: ''[[Cornell 1964]]'' (Blue Note, 2007) – live

'''With [[Oliver Nelson]]'''
* ''[[Screamin' the Blues]]'' (New Jazz, 1961) – rec. 1960
* ''[[The Blues and the Abstract Truth]]'' (Impulse!, 1961)
* ''[[Straight Ahead (Oliver Nelson album)|Straight Ahead]]'' (New Jazz, 1961)

'''With [[Orchestra U.S.A.]]'''
* ''Debut'' (Colpix, 1963)
* ''Mack the Knife and Other Berlin Theatre Songs of Kurt Weill'' (RCA Victor, 1964)
{{Col-2}}
'''With others'''
* [[Clifford Brown]], ''Clifford Brown + Eric Dolphy – Together: Recorded live at Dolphy's home, 1954'' (Rare Live, 2005)
* [[Ron Carter]], ''[[Where? (album)|Where?]]'' (New Jazz, 1961)
* [[Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis]], ''[[Trane Whistle]]'' (Prestige, 1960)
* [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], ''[[I Gotta Right to Swing]]'' (Decca, 1960)
* Phil Diaz, ''The Latin Jazz Quintet'' (United Artists, 1961)
* [[Benny Golson]], ''[[Pop + Jazz = Swing]]'' (Audio Fidelity, 1961)
* [[Ted Curson]], ''[[Plenty of Horn (Ted Curson album)|Plenty of Horn]]'' (Old Town, 1961)
* [[Gil Evans]], ''[[The Individualism of Gil Evans]]'' (Verve, 1964) – rec. 1963–64
* [[Andrew Hill (jazz musician)|Andrew Hill]], ''[[Point of Departure (Andrew Hill album)|Point of Departure]]'' (Blue Note, 1965) – rec. 1964
* [[Freddie Hubbard]], ''[[The Body & the Soul]]'' (Impulse!, 1963)
* [[Abbey Lincoln]], ''[[Straight Ahead (Abbey Lincoln album)|Straight Ahead]]'' ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1961)
* [[Booker Little]], ''[[Out Front (Booker Little album)|Out Front]]'' ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1961)
* [[Makanda Ken McIntyre|Ken McIntyre]], ''[[Looking Ahead (Ken McIntyre album)|Looking Ahead]]'' (New Jazz, 1961)
* [[Pony Poindexter]], ''[[Pony's Express]]'' (Epic, 1962)
* [[Max Roach]], ''[[Percussion Bitter Sweet]]'' (Impulse!, 1961)
* [[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]], ''[[Ezz-thetics]]'' (Riverside, 1961)
* [[Mal Waldron]], ''[[The Quest (Mal Waldron album)|The Quest]]'' (New Jazz, 1962) – rec. 1961
{{Col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Belhomme, Guillaume. ''Eric Dolphy''. Marseille: Le mot et le reste, 2008. {{ISBN|978-2-915378-53-5}}
* Belhomme, Guillaume. ''Eric Dolphy''. Biographical sketches, Hofheim: Wolke Verlag, 2023. {{ISBN|978-3-95593-146-9}}
* Horricks, Raymond. ''The Importance of Being Eric Dolphy''. Great Britain: D. J. Costello Publishers, 1989. {{ISBN|0-7104-3048-5}}
* Simosko, Vladimir and Tepperman, Barry. ''Eric Dolphy: A Musical Biography and Discography''. New York: Da Capo Press, 1979. {{ISBN|0-306-80107-8}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://adale.org/EDIntro.html Eric Dolphy] at adale.org
*[http://www.jazzdisco.org/dolphy/ Eric Dolphy] session and discography at JazzDisco.org
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20011124183435/http://farcry.neurobio.pitt.edu/Eric.html Eric Dolphy] pages by Alan Saul (archived)
*[https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMfer02.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_faSection=overview&_faSubsection=did&_dmdid=d524e6 Eric Dolphy Collection] at the [https://loc.gov/ Library of Congress]


{{Eric Dolphy}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolphy, Eric}}
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