So Long, Eric! Homage To Eric Dolphy (Intakt)
Aki Takase / Alexander von Schlippenbach
Released October 1, 2014
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
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So long, Eric! For this tribute to Eric Dolphy, Alexander von Schlippenbach and Aki Takase have put together an ensemble with some of the best interpreters of Dolphy’s music. In addition to Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach on grand pianos, Han Bennink and Karl Berger, two of Dolphy’s former collaborators can be heard on drums and vibraphone. The band is completed by one of the most exciting front lines on the European jazz scene with Rudi Mahall, Nils Wogram, Axel Dörner, Henrik Walsdorff and Tobias Delius.
Bold arrangments and visionary playing bring out the exploding expressivity of Dolphy’s compositions and prove that – even 50 years after Dolphy’s death – they sound fresh and relevant.
Track Listing:
1. Les 04:01
2. Hat and Beard 13:04
3. The Prophet 06:05
4. 17 West 04:03
5. Serene 04:32
6. Miss Ann 09:06
7. Something Sweet, Something Tender 05:25
8. Out There 07:34
9. Out to Lunch 13:16
Personnel:
Aki Takase: piano
Alexander von Schlippenbach: piano
Karl Berer: vibraphone
Rudi Mahall: bass clarinet, clarinet
Tobias Delius: tenor saxophone
Henrik Walsdorff: alto saxophone
Axel Dörner: trumpet
Nils Wogram: trombone
Wilbert de Joode: bass
Antonio Borghini: bass
Han Bennink: drums
Heinrich Köbberling: drums
Recorded live June 19, 20, 2014 in Berlin by Kulturradio vom Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg.
Compositions by Eric Dolphy
Arrangements by Alexander von Schlippenbach and Aki Takase.
Radio producer: Ulf Drechsel
Sound supervisor: Wolfgang Hoff
Recording engineer: Jens Liebewirth
Mixing engineer: Nikolaus Löwe
Digital cut and mastering: Ulrich Hieber
Project management: Constanze Schliebs
Photos: Kazue Yokoi
Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder
Produced by Takase-Schlippenbach-Schliebs-GbR and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt
Review:
Commensurate with his importance, there aren’t enough tributes to alto saxophonist/flutist/bass clarinetist Dolphy, who died in Berlin in 1964 at age 36. Dolphy himself recorded live in the city in ’62 and waxed “Last Date” with Han Bennink shortly before his demise, around the time Charles Mingus, with prophetic irony, titled a blues “So Long, Eric” when Dolphy departed his group. Less known is that vibraphonist Karl Berger invited Dolphy to play at the Tangent club the night Dolphy succumbed to diabetic coma. T he colossal collective talent of this 12-piece band was captured live by Kulturradio vom Rundfunk Berlin Brandenberg in June 2014. Cover art and a third of the selections reference Dolphy’s sole Blue Note leader date, Out To Lunch!, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.
“Hat And Beard” was Dolphy’s tribute to another of Alexander von Schlippenbach heroes, T helonious Monk, and Japanese pianist Aki Takase (Schlippenbach’s wife) recorded her own Dolphy tribute with bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall in 1997. There’s no virtuoso more studied and worthy to take on Dolphy’s legacy than the amazing Mahall, who reprises their duo on “17 West” and enjoys a dramatic tête-à-tête with Takase on her aggressive arrangement of “Hat And Beard,” (notable for lively backgrounds from Mahall’s Enttäuschung cohort Axel Dörner and a face-off between bassists Borghini and De Joode). Takase’s take on “The Prophet” oozes Mingus-like, and trombonist Nils Wogram, channeling Jimmy Knepper and beyond, is marvelous. Schlippenbach cuts to quartet for “Out There,” with saxophonist Henrik Walsdorff, bassist Antonio Borghini and Heinrich Köbberling. Borghini nearly pushes Schlippenbach’s tilting tempo over the cliff as Walsdorff eschews Dolphy-like interval leaps out of some necessity. Schlippenbach’s hands are two personalities, Borghini mightily bulbous. Bennink signals “Out To Lunch” with arch militarism; a dissonant maelstrom ensues around Wogram before Dörner’s battery of rattles and breathy smears. Marching basses drive the cacophony home, which includes trademark Schlippenbach scampers, Ayler-esque textures and send-off stick-in-mouth clicks from Bennink. Music is rarely this richly festooned with brilliance and hyper-real personality.
Michael Jackson (DownBeat)
