Do we like Eric Dolphy?
Our score: 8 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up and colleagues describe him warmly, but the record I could open is thin, so I've stopped short of a nine.
Eric Dolphy was born in Los Angeles in 1928 and grew up with parents and a church pastor who backed his love of music. He studied with the teacher Lloyd Reese at Jefferson High School and went on to L.A. City College. Not a bad start for a bloke who'd change what a bass clarinet could do.
By 1949 he was playing big band dates, then went quiet on record for about nine years before joining Chico Hamilton's group, where he added alto sax, bass clarinet and flute to its chamber-jazz sound. He then moved to New York and lived in trombonist Slide Hampton's Brooklyn brownstone. In 1960 and 1961 he played on records by Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, George Russell and John Coltrane, which is a ridiculous run of company to keep.
Now the harm check. I found no scandal, no lawsuit, and no ugly quote from him in the pages I read. He worked with some of the most adventurous players of his day, and none of that company is known here for pushing harm. He died in 1964, well before the culture wars, so the record is short on politics. That's a gap in the evidence, not a pass earned on a technicality.
On how he treated people, saxophonist Harold Land called him “One of the sweetest, most thoughtful people I've ever met.” That's one bandmate, but it fits the picture of a musician who listened as much as he played. The profile also credits him with humour and what it calls artistic empathy.
In a 1960s interview he talked about freedom in sound, saying you can play every note you like, but only what you can hear. That's the whole philosophy: open the door wider, but listen first. It's a pretty good way to run a life too.
That spring of 1964 he toured Europe with Mingus and planned to stay abroad for a year. Diabetes cut his life short that year, and he died aged 35. He'd recorded Out to Lunch only months earlier, and it's called his masterpiece as leader and composer.