JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING

Rating:

If there was ever truth in advertising, this is it. Out There is pretty bizarre, but in a good way.

First off, there’s the instrumentation. Dolphy is basically using a chordless jazz trio, augmented with Ron Carter on cello. Roy Haynes plays the drums with a special delicacy designed to showcase the chamber jazz sound of the group. George Duviver has usually played in more conventional settings with folks like Oliver Nelson, Shelly Manne, and Count Basie, but here his bass provides a rock solid foundation for the fevered flights of Dolphy on his various reeds, and Carter on cello.

There’s quite a bit of compositional variety on Out There.

On the eponymous album opener, the front line is Dolphy on alto sax and Carter on bowed cello, doubling a cheerfully corkscrew melody that ends quizzically, while Duviver and Roy Haynes sustain a subdued but somehow intense swing beneath them. The solos by Carter and Dolphy are no less enigmatic, a pattern that will tend to hold over the release. Carter works within a narrow range. First, he plays rhythmic double stops, with the top note being the tonic, and the bottom slurring this way and that. Then he winds through numerous permutations of narrow intervals contained in an octave or so. Finally, he duets with himself, bowing low notes and commenting in the upper range of the cello. In contrast, Dolphy works almost exclusively with arpeggiated phrases, almost always returning to the same tonally midrange phrase, like a tongue fiddling with a sore tooth.

Serene is much less abstract. It’s a lovely ballad, and Dolphy comes up with an unconventional melody that nonetheless outlines the harmony so completely that it’s easy to follow where he’s going. Dolphy plays quite a few arpeggios on this tune also, but somehow they always wind up commenting on the harmony or melody. He also includes phrases of stunning lyricism. Ron Carter’s plucked solo is puckish and professiorial in equal measure. You can almost picture Ron with a pipe hanging out of his mouth, sleepy-eyed in concentration. Duviver’s plucked bass behind the cello provides a subtle tonal contrast. After Ron has had his say, Dolphy and Roy Haynes trade fours. It’s remarkable how Haynes sensitive handling of the drum kit evokes a nocturnal atmosphere. Great tune, great performance.

The Baron is Dolphy’s tribute to his old boss, Charlie Mingus. The head captures some of the Mingus’ legendary stubborness and idiosyncratic nature. Ron Carter is a crackup in his solo. He indulges in wacky trills that end in a carefully chosen sustained note. Again, Dolphy is on bass clarinet.

The next tune, Eclipse, is in fact an obscure but lovely composition by Charlie Mingus. It’s given a luscious arrangement by Dolphy, with the melody played by the leader on B flat clarinet, while Carter comments below him on bowed cello. A short but stunning track.

Dolphy switches to flute on 17 West. The head is mysterious but catchy, with Carter returning to the same double stop at the end of almost every phrase. Eric Dolphy almost sounds like a different musician, depending on which horn he’s playing. The flute tends to bring out a softer side of him. His tone is achingly sweet and the melodies in his improvisation tend to be more melodic and lyrical than when he’s on alto. Ron Carter’s solo consists almost entirely of double stopped intervals of a tritone.

Sketches Of Melba, written by Dolphy (Editor’s note, 12/11/2011: this tune was in fact written by Randy Weston, as noted by Marco Mascaro in the comments below), is almost a straightforward ballad, except for one thing. Dolphy plays the achingly gorgeous melody on flute without a drop of irony, but the sentiment is effectively undercut by Carter bowing countermelodies underneath that are just a hair offkey. The overall effect is richly comic without sacrificing one whit of beauty.

Dolphy ends the date with the haunting Feathers, by the obscure composer Hale Smith. The harmonic progression and melody are surprising but feel inevitable, which is the ultimate tribute to a composer. The natural poignancy of the composition is intensified by the almost guitar-like plucking of thirds by Ron Carter on the cello. Somewhat amusingly, Dolphy chooses not to take the solo at the rubato pace of the head, but instead has Hayes and Duviver provide a gentle swing for his flights on alto. Feathers provides a fantastic ending to one of the seminal recordings of jazz.

Out There is unique in the jazz literature, as far as I know, a mixture of post-bop, chamber music, and the avant guarde. Yet, for jazz fans with a dash of adventure in their souls, it’s remarkably accessible, and well worth seeking out.

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