Eric Dolphy
(1928-1964)
One of the truly great musicians of this or any century, who, Orpheus-like, descend and disappear in mortal time. Someone wrote about him that he might have lived a long life if god had invented a horn that would let him breathe. Played the bass clarinet, flute, alto saxophone; all forms of woodwinds, with what he called the wonder of finding oneself through music. His mentors were Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. Shortly before he died in the early summer of 1964, he is recorded as saying, when you hear music, after it's over, it's gone in the air. You can never capture it again. But when you listen to "God Bless the Child," you know he was mistaken. In the body of his work we hear the wonder of someone who found himself through music.