Eric Dolphy
In this modern era of Jazz Carlos Garnett and Danilo Perez are the most popular names among Jazz aficionados in Panama. But, Panama’s past boasted a rich Jazz history as well. Sadly, local Jazz heads have said that many of their countrymen are not familiar with that history. Further, while some Panamanians have heard of a some great Jazz artists, they don’t know that many are actually from Panama.
One
such example of this is the great, multi-talented reed player, Eric Dolphy. Dolphy’s parents migrated from Panama to the US
in the late 1920’s, as did many Panamians. This was just before Eric was born.
His music career began at the age of 6.
I've never seen him perform live. But, I’ve found Dolphy's sound to
be provocative and sophisticated. I was introduced to cats like Eric Dolphy by John Coltrane’s’ music. Releases like Ole, and Spirtual, captured
me with Dolphy’s stellar work flute, alto sax and bass clarinet.
By the time I entered
the world of Jazz radio I was fully aware of who Dolphy was. He was a regular
in my playlist. My love of his work lead me to others like, Archie
Shepp, and Anthony Braxton. Both of whom I have seen in live performance. With that in mind , the details of
Dolphy's sudden death in 1964 intrigued me.
Here is my summary of
how his time was spent just days
