Remembering Eric Dolphy

Having paid homage to Alec Wilder in 1996, guitarist Vic Juris sets his sights on a very different musical icon, Eric Dolphy. Like Dave Douglas has done with Booker Little, Wayne Shorter, and Mary Lou Williams, Juris not only plays Dolphy's music, but presents a batch of original pieces "inspired by" him. He begins and ends with two of Dolphy's exceedingly complex free bop lines, "Miss Ann" and "Out There," giving himself quite a workout. He also includes "Something Sweet, Something Tender," a haunting piece from Out to Lunch, and "South Street Exit," a blues that finds saxophonist Dick Oatts switching from alto to flute, as Dolphy often did himself. Standouts among the originals include the swinging, multi-meter "He Me" and the lyrical "Tone Rose" (a pun on "tone rows"). Oatts contributes "Emphasizing Eric," a slow grooving piece with a difficult melody that has Juris sounding quite a bit like John Scofield. Bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirshfield have a way of making this arduous music sound easy and fun. ~ David R. Adler