Eric Dolphy

condition (record/cover): NM / NM

Stereo LP in mono gatefold sleeve.

Second copy of the Vee Jay memorial edition - the 1963 New York material remains among the most requested Dolphy on vinyl, and copies never sit long enough to gather dust. Eric Dolphy in the last full flowering before Out to Lunch!: original compositions bristling with ideas, ensemble textures that reward headphone archaeology, and that unmistakable alto sound - joyous, jagged, completely human - leading a band of brilliant youngsters through charts that must have felt like transmissions from five years ahead. The memorial framing is heavy, unavoidably, but the music inside is anything but: this is a man at absolute peak, documented just in time, playing like the future was long and bright. Vee Jay's jazz wing was short-lived and its Dolphy holdings are its crown.

Same contents as its twin in this sale, fresh copy, same standing recommendation for any shelf where Dolphy matters - which should be every shelf, and around here is.