''Naima'' is an album by American musician
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ...
, released in Europe in 1987 by the Jazzway label, and later by the
West Wind
A west wind is a wind that originates in the west and blows in an eastward direction.
Mythology and Literature
In European tradition, it has usually been considered the mildest and most favorable of the directional winds.
In Greek mythology, ...
label.
Four of the five tracks were recorded on June 11, 1964 in a
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
studio for radio broadcast, nine days after the
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hil ...
session that yielded ''
Last Date'', and eighteen days before Dolphy's death. The remaining track, a duet with bassist
Ron Carter
Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded n ...
, was recorded in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in November 1960, during a session which also produced three of the tracks released on ''
Other Aspects''.
The tracks recorded that day represent the last of Dolphy's commercially available recordings.
Music from the same recording session was also issued on ''
Unrealized Tapes'', released in 1988, ''The Complete Last Recordings: In Hilversum & Paris 1964'' (2010),
and ''Paris '64'' (2018).
Background
In April 1964, Dolphy accompanied
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians an ...
and his band on a tour of Europe organized by
George Wein
George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer. . (Performances from this tour were documented on ''
Revenge!
''Revenge!'' is a 1971 American made-for-television horror-thriller film directed by Jud Taylor and starring Shelley Winters, Bradford Dillman and Stuart Whitman. The film premiered as the ''ABC Movie of the Week
ABC are the first three lette ...
'', ''
The Great Concert of Charles Mingus
''The Great Concert of Charles Mingus'' is a live album by the jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus, recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, France, on April 19, 1964. It was originally released as a triple album in 1971 on th ...
'', ''
Mingus in Europe Volume I'', and ''
Mingus in Europe Volume II''.) Prior to leaving the U.S., however, Dolphy told Mingus that he intended to remain in Europe upon completion of the tour, rather than remaining with the band. Mingus and his group returned to the U.S. in early May, at which point Dolphy moved to Paris, at first staying with an old army friend,
and intending to settle down with his fiancée, dancer Joyce Mordecai. During this time, Dolphy began playing at the
Le Chat Qui Pêche club with trumpeter
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
and saxophonist
Nathan Davis,
both of whom appear on ''Naima''. (Davis recalled that he'd "never been in a band that practiced as much as we practiced
ith Dolphy we had daily rehearsals and played every night from 10 PM till 4 AM".
)
Dolphy maintained a busy schedule over the next few months. On May 28, he made a recording in Paris for radio broadcast with a quartet that featured pianist
Kenny Drew
Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist.
Biography
Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...
, bassist Guy Pedersen, and drummer
Daniel Humair
Daniel Humair (born 23 May 1938 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss drummer, composer, and painter.
He is widely renowned and became a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1986 and Officier in 1992. He has played with many jazz pe ...
. These tracks were released on Humair's 1994 album ''Surrounded 1964-1987'', as well as on ''The Complete Last Recordings: In Hilversum & Paris 1964''.
From May 29 - June 2, Dolphy visited
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, where he performed with a variety of ensembles, including a big band, and where he recorded the music that would be released on the album ''
Last Date''.
Back in Paris, during the remainder of June, he led a number of ensembles (including the one heard on ''Naima''), and performed and recorded with Sonny Grey's big band and
Jack Diéval's All Stars.
Immediately prior to his death in Berlin on June 29, Dolphy had been making extensive plans. He expressed an interest in reuniting with the musicians who performed on ''Last Date'',
and stated that he wanted to start a band with trumpeter
Woody Shaw
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
, bassist
Richard Davis, and drummer
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, b ...
.
He was also planning to join
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.
After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
's group, and was preparing himself to play with
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet.
Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...
. In addition, he was writing a
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...
titled ''Love Suite''.
The June 11 recordings are unique in that, prior to that day, Dolphy had not recorded with either Donald Byrd or Nathan Davis.
In addition, ''Naima'' features the first recorded appearance of the Dolphy composition "Triple Mix",
as well as Dolphy's first rendition of
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and rai ...
's ballad "
Naima
"Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album '' Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works.
History
Co ...
", for which the album is named, outside of the context of Coltrane's band.
(Dolphy's first recording of
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...
's "Ode To Charlie Parker" appeared on ''
Far Cry
''Far Cry'' is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games, all of which have been published by Ubisoft. The first game, '' Far Cry'', was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subseq ...
''. "G.W.", dedicated to bandleader
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
,
originally appeared on ''
Outward Bound
Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
'', while "Serene" originally appeared on ''
Out There''.)
Reception
In a review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
, Scott Yanow wrote: "this CD finds the great Eric Dolphy... in excellent form... Although joined by a fine French rhythm section, trumpeter Donald Byrd and Nathan Davis on tenor, Dolphy is easily the dominant voice throughout the spirited set, showing listeners that he still had a great deal to say even though his time had run out. This European import is worth searching for."
The authors of the ''
Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...
'' commented: "There has been controversy in the past over some of West Wind's contractual idiosyncrasies, but this is the authentic article... More than just another pick-up band, the Champs Elysees All-Stars sound well versed in the Dolphy literature."
Track listing
# "
Naima
"Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album '' Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works.
History
Co ...
" (
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.
Born and rai ...
) – 15:12
# "Triple Mix" (Eric Dolphy) – 8:20
# "Ode To Charlie Parker" (
Jaki Byard
John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...
) – 5:28
# "G.W." (Eric Dolphy) – 5:58
# "Serene" (Eric Dolphy) – 7:38
Tracks, 1, 3, 4, and 5 recorded on June 11, 1964 in Paris. Track 2 recorded in November 1960 in New York City.
Personnel
*
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ...
– alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
*
Nathan Davis – tenor saxophone (track 1)
* Sonny Grey – trumpet (tracks 3 and 5)
*
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...
– trumpet (track 1)
*
Jack Diéval – piano (tracks 3-5)
* Jacques B. Hess – bass (tracks 1, 3-5)
*
Ron Carter
Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded n ...
– bass (track 2)
* Jacky Bambou – congas (tracks 1, 3-5)
*
Franco Manzecchi
Franco (Gian) Manzecchi (September 10, 1931, Ravenna – March 25, 1979, Konstanz) was an Italian drummer.
Biography
Manzecchi's older brother Gino was also a trumpeter and drummer. He moved from his hometown Ravenna, Italy, to Bologna, then t ...
– drums (1, 3-5)
References
{{Reflist
Eric Dolphy albums