Customer Reviews

Live at the Five Spot 1

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This cd is the first three main recordings to feature this quintet's stay at the Five Spot cafe in 1961. The other releases featuring this set are vol. 2 and the Memorial Album. It also has been released in piecemeal fashion on various records and cds as well as the massive Complete Prestige Recordings boxed set. The stellar line up is full of lesser known musicians, but these are some of the heavyweights of their craft. Dolphy is heard on alto sax and bass clarinet, Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on bass, Ed Blackwell on drums, and the near forgotten Booker Little on trumpet, he died just three months after this date at only 23! The music on this cd is comprised of three lengthy originals, and one alternate take, which allow the soloists to stretch out and really burn, and burn they do! It is easy to find recordings of Dolphy tearing up solos on alto sax, bass clarinet, clarinet, or even flute, but it is hard to think of a session where he does it with such fire! His alto solos on Waldron's Fire Waltz and his own The Prophet are perfect examples of his near vocalization of notes. His bass clarinet solo on Little's Bee Vamp will open new ears to a unique sound on a unique solo instrument. Booker Little solos with fire and a beautiful tone, his idea's are a near match for Dolphy's wild musical imagination. Hearing Little here makes one wonder what may have been had he lived longer! Mal Waldron shines on his solo on Bee Vamp. Alot is written about his out of tune piano, but it somehow fits right into his unique style, as well as that of the leadmen. With no room for Richard Davis' flawless bass work or Ed Blackwell's unorthidox drumming to stretch and solo, one is still struck by the fluid but solid foundation they set for this outstanding live date. If one is looking for an introduction to the unbelieveable sound and talent of Eric Dolphy, I highly recommend this is the place to start!

My opinions of this cd run hot and cold. It's worth getting but I don't consider it to be a truly essential Dolphy recording to own. I think part of this is due to the sound. Davis is an excellent bass player but he is so low in the mix on this cd that you never get a chance to find out how good he is.

I must make special mention of Mal Waldron's piano playing. I agree with one of the previous reviewers who said that the out-of-tune piano actually works in this setting. Waldron has such a unique way of constructing his solo's. Sometimes when I listen to him I almost feel like he knows exactly what he will be playing 1 minute from now. His solo's aren't just licks played over the tunes. Every idea he has is rooted in what he just played. Whereas some players seem to play so "in this moment" that they seem to disregard what they played 15 seconds ago, all of Waldron's idea's seem to keep building, repeating, mutating, and twisting out of the things he just played. One of the truly underrated players of his generation. He shines on this cd from beginning to end.

I guess my main complaint about this cd would be that, aside from Waldron's superbly constructed solo's, this cd is really just an elongated blowing session. Whereas something like Andrew Hill's "Point Of Departure" (of which Dolphy is a huge part) is a cohesive band playing and delving into the heart and soul of the compositions, the band on this cd is just taking turns soloing. Sometimes the solo's seem to be based in the feel of the tune, sometimes they don't. In one sense though that in itself makes this an important document of this period of Dolphy and Little's development. I think at this time they were both still very much working and extending on their own idea's of what they could do. Let's face it, neither one of these two great musicians was done and had reached their "peak development" when they died, so at this stage I think they were more concerned with how they could technically relate to the chords, keys, meters, etc... of the given song and work their way through those things, rather than focusing on producing a cohesive whole. I mean, Dolphy is an all-out virtuoso here, certainly a master of his horns, something about this band just feels "transition" to me... farther out than Dolphy bands were before, but not quite where he wants his bands to be yet.

I usually describe this cd as "a straight-ahead jazz cd led by two very non-straight-ahead players, Dolphy and Little". Dolphy is certainly dreaming bigger on this cd than he was on earlier Prestige recordings, but I don't feel that this group is entirely successful. Having said that though, yes, there are moments of greatness from everyone in the band, and if you're like me and have most or everything Dolphy ever recorded then you'll certainly hear some great moments on this cd, but I don't think you'll say this is one of the truly spectacular recordings by a Dolphy band (or band in which he was a side man).

From the first minute of the album I was hooked. Eric Dolphy is probably my favorite altoist at the moment, and always one of my top 5 saxophonists, and he is in brilliant form here. His tone is crisp, his lines as fiery and sharp as ever, and he has a wonderful rapport with his supporting cast. Dolphy makes the album worth it by himself.

Fortunately, with this supporting cast, he doesn't need to do it all by himself. Credit must be given to Eddie Blackwell on drums, bassist Richard Davis, and pianist Mal Waldron. Blackwell came of age with Ornette Coleman, and jazz has rarely seen a more underappreciated drummer. While not as flamboyant or extroverted as the other leading drummers of the 60's (Tony Williams and Elvin Jones comes to mind) Blackwell has a kind of light subtlety that other drummers lack...he is free and inventive with his time, and defines the word "crisp." Richard Davis of course was one of the foremost bassists of the era, and Mal Waldron shines not only as a logical, thoughtful soloist on piano but a solid composer, contributing the magnificent "Fire Waltz."

And Booker Little? Jazz is full of stories of men dying before their time: Clifford Brown, Albert Ayler, Fats Navarro, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy himself, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane. Put Booker on that list, near the top. The amount of recordings this brilliant trumpeter left for us is small, but worth every minute of it. If he had lived longer, he would have become the leading trumpet of the times, the biggest since Clifford Brown (in my opinion.) Some readers my differ on that, but the mere fact that I am asserting such a claim shows what a tremendous talent Little was. Nothing more needs to be said about him.

This album might be thought by some curious Amazon customers as avant-garde, but it is hardly that. I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a straight-ahead album led by 5 non-straight-ahead jazz players...especially Dolphy. Thus it is not WHAT the band plays that makes At the Five Spot so compelling, but rather HOW they play it. The format and style hews closely to the bop tradition, but it is if anything more explosive, time is much more free, and the soloists aren't just running changes, they are using the FULL capacity of their instrument, using any note available, any sound, any kind of rhythm...giving bebop the makeover that it needed.

Anyone interested in Dolphy needs to check this out...anyone interested in 60's jazz needs to as well. I disagree with the afore-mentioned reviewer in that this IS essential Dolphy. The creativty on this album, both as soloists and a collective ensemble is first class. Hear it to understand what I'm talking about. Hell, give this one 6 stars.

Like any other genre labal, avant-gaurd or free jazz is an empty term. There is so much lumped under the heading that it defines nothing. Cecil Taylor sounds nothing like Archie Shepp or late Coltrane.

Eric Dolphy was placed beneath this umbrella, and to a small degree, this makes sense. Listen to Out To Lunch and hear that Dolphy was not afraid to indeed play "out."

Good a player as he was, his work was based on composition as much as improvosation. He loved chords, and lining these up in ways that created peices with an almost classical musicallity.

Both Five Spot sets show this in spades: listen to "Bee Vamp," "Number Eight," any of the numbers on the set. You will hear waltzes, almost ethnic flavored minor tonics, all kinds of wonderful writing.

Dolphy's playing is mostly what got him into avant gaurde circles, and yes, you can hear him moving further in this direction on his last great album, Out To Lunch.

Dolphy tragically died in 1964. This was a year before Coltrane's Ascention gave the young upstarts the mandate to go out as far "out" as they liked. The master gave his endorcement. Dolphy was conspicuosly absent, and not hearing where he would have taken his music in post-Ascention jazz is a great loss to the music.

But at least we have this. It is more than enough to remind you of how great Dolphy was and of what may have come next.

Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, and worthy almost only because of that.

Buy all the Five Spot material, sit back and let these guys take you through a wild ride.

It sounds like a blowing session, you bet! That is what they do up and down, around and around, and inside-out.

Get these sessions!

I love jazz. This is my all time favorite live jazz record. The sound is amazing. The music is fantastic. If you have not heard this, and you like 60s jazz, I think you should listen. I wish I could go back in time and go to NYC jazz clubs in the 50s and 60s.

I have to admit this album was a bit of a letdown for me. After thinking about it for a bit, I really have to blame the material. Both of the major focal songs of the album basically switch back and forth between two vamps ad nauseam, making it stale. Despite this, all of the musicians play extremely well, with Dolphy tearing off some forceful and inspired solos. It just seems to get boring after a while. Musicians like this need to be engaged with interesting and organic material (a perfect example of this is Out to Lunch.) You just know Dolphy can do better than repetitive jam sessions.

This cd is just amazing! I mean Eric Dolphy was just so cutting edge, and not locked into the bebop genre,but went beyond the pail of the conventional.I find this music to be exciting, firey, and fresh.Booker little was just as amazing, with his tone,and haunting sound,while using dissonance as a tool for great improvisation. A must get for the Eric dolphy fan!!!

. . . to assist me in listening to music from another perspective. He done did it real good. I hear irony and humor. It is obvious that the quintet shares his enthusiasm for this slant. Booker Little sloloms through the charts as well as jazz history with the smooth swing of his legend. This unit is new each time I listen to it.
If time is money this is a steal.
I know where this CD is at all times.