A Lost Giant

It seems almost a given that if there is a poll to discover the "best", "greatest" or whatever jazz album of al time, then the accolade inevitably falls to Kind Of Blue. However, when readers of UK magazine The Wire were asked a few years ago, they came up with the answer of Out To Lunch by Eric Dolphy. That is the album up for consideration here. In a genre littered with sad stories, Dolphy is one of he greatest "might have beens" were his life not cut short in what remain murky circumstances. A multi instrumentalist, his alto sax was formidable, his flute playing idiosyncratic and maybe the most remarkable contributions came on bass clarinet. All are featured on this album in a quintet setting with Richard Davis on bass, Tony Williams on drums, Freddy Hubbard on trumpet and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. The music begins to stray towards the freer end of modern jazz and some critics think that Hubbard is slightly a fish out of water in this company but he is solid enough. The rhythm section really has a feel for what Dolphy was beginning to do and the inclusion of vibes instead of piano is key to the move away from standard jazz comping, with Hutcherson in inspired and individual form. With the passing of time, this isn't as challenging music to find a way into as it once seemed but it remains impassioned and a great, if not greatest, album.