Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence around the time that he was active. His use of the bass clarinet helped to establish the instrument within jazz. Dolphy extended the vocabulary and boundaries of the alto saxophone, and was among the earliest significant jazz flute soloists.
His improvisational style was characterized by the use of wide intervals, in addition to employing an array of extended techniques to emulate the sounds of human voices and animals. 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.” 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.
instruments played
(soprano)
alto
baritone
bass
clarinet
flute
piccolo
saxophone
Associated Acts
Charles Mingus John Coltrane Booker Little Chico Hamilton Mal Waldron Ron Carter Oliver Nelson Ornette Coleman Max Roach John Lewis Freddie Hubbard George Russell Ted Curson Abbey Lincoln Ken McIntyre Andrew Hill Benny Golson
Birth Name
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr.
Genres
Jazz avant-garde jazz post-bop third stream free jazz
Labels
Impulse! Prestige Transatlantic Blue Note Mercury
Occupations
Bandleader saxophonist flautist bass clarinetist composer sideman
Website
Years Active
1949 1964
Name
Eric Dolphy
Nationality
United States of America