ERIC DOLPHY
Far Cry (With Booker Little) (Prestige)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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The first two tracks on 1960s Far Cry made it clear that Eric Dolphy still had Charlie Parker in his heart and mind. He began the set with a pair of tributes, "Mrs. Parker Of K.C. (Bird's Mother)" and "Ode To Charlie Parker," the latter of which found Dolphy turning in some of his finest flute work. With trumpeter Booker Little sharing the soloing chores and the marvelous backing of Jaki Byard (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums), Dolphy had a can't-miss quintet that nonetheless sounded just the slightest bit loose, nearly sloppy, at the very beginning of "Mrs. Parker Of K.C. (Bird's Mother)." It was probably intentional and it was definitely brief. From there on in, all was near perfection. Some may quibble with a few of Haynes' choices on the very mellow "Left Alone," as he spent a lot of time doing odd, semi-quiet little snare rolls that probably distracted from rather than enhanced Dolphy's flute solo. As Haynes acquitted himself nicely on the rest of the album, I doubt many people hold this one against him. Most of the music here stayed inbounds, ranging between gorgeous blues and exciting hard bop, with a few moments here and there carrying threats of going outside, such as Dolphy's pure solo, alone with his sax and needing nobody else to help create a huge sound on "Tenderly." Avant-garde buffs will feel teased and ultimately disappointed, unless they can hang with good blues and hard bop as well, because of the hints at taking flight from the confines of accepted structure by both Dolphy and Little, and to a much lesser degree even Byard from time to time. True fans of Eric Dolphy should own this, first of all because they should be completists. Eric Dolphy is a study subject, dammit. But if you need a more cost-rational reason, then because this was the period when he was beginning to hear a lot of possibilities and try new things out, albeit within the confines of the accepted music, and he was able to express them through sax, flute AND bass clarinet with nearly equal otherworldly skill. If you are fascinated by jazz, and especially by the great players, this one will give you a lot of joy.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson