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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
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
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.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have to redress the balance of the other review and bump up the star ratings. This is a CLASSIC and unmissable album, whose sound is still unique today. Despite the 'free'ish jazz, there is a very tight structure and plan to each track. This contradiction is what draws me to Dolphy's music. The second track 'Something Sweet, Something Tender' includes a brilliant inter-change between Dolphy and a bowed bass. This is music of the very highest standard and show-cases the individuality of Dolphy as a composer and soloist. It doesn't fall into any known category, so is as likely to appeal to a modern classical fan as a jazz fan.
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Out to Lunch! is one of the most important jazz albums of the 1960s. The clarity of the recording, the individual space accorded each instrument, the meticulous attention to the nuances, the refined texture of the overall sound, the sheer presence of each recorded moment - these were the hallmarks of its sound.
The coming together of Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis and Tony Williams on Out to Lunch! was a momentous event. Dolphy had made a clutch of records for Prestige in the years leading up to this record, the most significant probably being the famous Five Spot live sessions with Booker Little that would promise so much but be cut short by Little's death from uraemia. Out to Lunch! was to be his single, most unsettling masterpiece.
It's not an easy album to become fond of. It insinuates melodies before it cuts them short, it ruthlessly breaks up harmony into fragments and it stretches the limits of tonality to extremes, but perhaps its triumph is that it brings swing into a new era. By giving Davis and Williams space and freedom, Dolphy let swing become a by-product of interaction, not a conscious contrivance. The rhythmic complexity of the record knew no precedent.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Straight up and down
Unlike a fellow reviewer, I don`t think of this as `cool` jazz at all. Eric Dolphy was a one-off, individual presence in 60s jazz, who made lyrically astute, surprisingly warm,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by GlynLuke
DIFFICULT AT FIRST , BUT A CLASSIC
THIS IS VERY EXPERIMENTAL CHALLNGING ,YET FASCINATING TOOK ME AWHILE TO COME TO
TERMS WITH IT ,BUT NOW REALLY LIKE IT
TERMS WITH IT ,BUT NOW REALLY LIKE IT
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Aa James
Dolphy's masterpiece
Probably the best single recording Eric Dolphy ever made, 'Out To Lunch' is perhaps not the place to start with Dolphy. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Paul Bowes
A jazz classic
If you only try one Dolphy album in your collection, this must be it. Undoubtedly avant garde and requiring your attention, but this is Dolphy at his best with every track... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by Smudge
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... Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2006 by David Johnson
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... Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2004
The coolest jazz......
The eratic percussive drive of Tony Williams backing up Dolphy's strraaaaaaaange rhythmic patterns was never going to be mainstream listening. Read more
Published on 25 Dec 2000
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