Memorial Album

by

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little

Edit

The Memorial Album, although titled differently, was recorded the same night at the Five Spot club as Dolphy's other two "Live at the Five Spot" albums. Those who have either of the other two albums from that night will find this album essential. The quintet that Dolphy has assembled, although not nearly as famous as the Coltrane or Davis bands from the sixties, works wonderfully together. The rhythm section of Richard Davis, Ed Blackwell, and Mal Waldron work together beautifully, even if without show. Davis has always been a rather reserved yet lyrical bassist and his style is well shown here. Waldron tends to build solos around simple chordal patterns and then play with different harmonic sequences and rhythmic changes around those patterns. His playing is quite like on his own album of the same time "The Quest," although without the darkness of tone. Here, he is given ample free space and provides a nice finish to the solos of Little and Dolphy. Booker Little, in his early twenties, was a rising star at the time of the recording. He plays with both deft technique and mature confidence and provides a nice counterpart to the virtuoso Dolphy. Dolphy shows the same great technique as he did with COltrane at about the same. He seems well suited to this setting and takes quite long solos, always building around a theme while also showcasing his wondrous talents. While not as avant guard as some of his later recording, this certianly show the talent that he was. Overall, this is a great CD that should on the shelf of any Dolphy fan. Little died soon after this recording and so it is one of the select few out there with him on it. The only negative of the CD is that it has very poor sound quality. However, this is but a small criticism for an otherwise first rate album.