Track Listing

1. Hat And Beard
2. Something Sweet Something Tender
3. Gazzellioni
4. Out To Lunch
5. Straight Up And Down

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1796 in Music
• Released on: 1999-05-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Eric Dolphy was among the most daring, impassioned and technically assured improvisers to come of age in the 1960s and Out to Lunch! represents his most fully realised vision. From his ground-breaking work with Chico Hamilton and Charles Mingus, through his catalytic stint with John Coltrane, and all through his brilliant solo recordings for Prestige, this reed innovator defined the best elements of the swing and the bebop traditions, from Benny Carter through Bird, while extending on the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic freedom of Monk. Dolphy is an emotional shaman with a keen comic edge, as is evident in the rhythmic sauntering, drunken gait of his theme to "Straight Up and Down," and Monk's influence is clearly discernible in Dolphy's witty dissonances and vocalised blues phrasing throughout Out to Lunch! (his only Blue Note recording, completed shortly before his untimely death). Rhythm masters Richard Davis, Bobby Hutcherson and Tony Williams suspend time at will, sculpting in open space, while deconstructing the harmony and superimposing cubist rhythmic displacements--periodically regrouping around Freddie Hubbard's bumblebee trumpet and the leader's vocalised bass clarinet (his Monkish "Hat and Beard"), wailing alto (the martial parodies of the title tune), and exhilarating flute (the lyric, swinging "Gazzelloni"). --Chip Stern

Customer Reviews

Way ahead of it's time
Make sure you do some reading up on Eric Dolphy before you buy this. Don't expect to hear anything resembling the winning Blue Note hard bop formula characteristic of the fifities and sixties. As far as Jazz goes this is way ahead of it's time, those who know the contemporary Jazz scene will know that there are plenty of acts out there who try and sound exactly like what you hear on this record.
OK, it's not easy listening. For me Dolphy's compositions are no way near as compelling as some of Ornette Colman's for example. It's quirky, mysterious, it has you scratching your chin trying to figure it all out. "Gazzelloni," starts off as very accessible before disappearing into some great flute loops. Add to that William's nuerotic sounding drums and it makes for interesting listening. Freddie Hubbard holds the record up in terms of his melodic contribution. Hutcheron's style of playing naturally leads to what Dolphy was trying to achieve on this record, the music heads down plenty of alleyways. I'm not going to tell lies, I only dig this out now and again when nobody else is around and give it a listen. It's challenging and gives an indicator of what would happen a lot lot later.

Playful playing.
I have to admit my jazz collection is quite slim and most of it predates the 1950's but I love the music on 'Out To Lunch'. Like others have contested, this is not free-jazz, much of the music opens with a melody line no matter how angular and dissonant before each member gets a chance to improvise. The opening 'Hat and Beard' (a tribute to Thelonious Monk) sets the tone for the rest of the album, the track roots itself in its synchopated beginning before leaping off into some interesting solos including a great one by vibist Bobby Hutcherson. Rhythm section Davis and Williams aren't so 'free' here maintaining an elegant groove. On 'Something Sweet, Something Tender', Hubbard sounds almost conservative, his playing evoking memories of 50's bop. There's some wonderful improvised bass by Richard Davis (also heard on Van Morrison's criticaly acclaimed 'Astral Weeks') and then Dolphy enters flouting all his exhuberance on clarinet. 'Gazzelloni' begins like the movie theme from an architypal 60's film, with a foot-tapping rhythm that again challenges the notion that this is a free-jazz album. There's some remarkable interplay between Hutcherson and Williams as they flow behind Dolphy's flute and Hubbard's trumpet. Hubbard comes to the fore again on 'Out To Lunch' where his trumpet runs like a bumble bee after Dolphy's bird-flying alto-sax solo. For a moment the rhythm breaks into a pounding monotone, then a bass flourish before the drums take us back to the original melody. Then comes the final drunken swagger of 'Straight Up And Down' where Hubbard's playing is almost conventional above the rhythm section indulging themselves, while Hutcherson goes on another flamboyant run, demonstrating what this album encapsulates most, an unrestrained sense of playfulness.

Difficult going.
I came to this music on the strength of the recommendations which it recieved. When I listened to it about four times and discarded it initially I thought that it was very thin on melody or much in the way of preconcieved quality music. Certainly, I could hear nothing to warrant the extreme praise which I have seen it recieve.
Returning to it months later, I began to warm to the first two tracks, the second of which being my favorite at present. Perhaps it was simply because I was not initially used to Dolphy's style that it took so long for me to get used to it.
It occured to me then that, if like me you are new to this huge genre, then there are so many high quality records which don't require so much effort, why not chose them instead?