Eric Dolphy

I had this whole essay about music, but I erased it in favor of this: Eric Dolphy is one of my favorite musicians ever. He was a virtuoso avant-garde multi-instrumentalist who created stunning improvisations on the alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute. He had one of those tragic early deaths that seem to plague jazz history--in his case, he collapsed in a diabetic coma and, because he was a jazz musician, doctors simply assumed it was drugs and left him untreated.

Here are a couple of videos of his work with another great, Charles Mingus. Mingus loved Dolphy.

First, an alto sax solo (and that drummer is no slouch!):



Second, bass clarinet:



Better than Coltrane. In fact, here's "Impressions". Trane loved Dolphy, too, and considered him a peer--but take a look at this video. I think Dolphy blows Trane away.