''Stockholm Sessions'' is an album by

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 ...

. It was recorded in September and November 1961 at the Swedish Broadcast station in Stockholm, Sweden, and was released by

Inner City Records Inner City Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Irv Kratka in 1976 in New York City. The company was a division of Music Minus One and also owned the label Classic Jazz. It started with reissues, then moved on to new recordi ...

and

Enja Records Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...

in 1981. The album was recorded during Dolphy's second visit to Europe. Three of the tracks ("Les" (mistitled as "Loss"), "Serene" (mistitled as "Sorino"), and " Don't Blame Me") were recorded in September 1961 for a radio aircheck, and feature Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute, Knud Jorgensen on piano,

Jimmy Woode James Bryant Woode (September 23, 1926 – April 23, 2005) was an American jazz bassist. He played and/or recorded in bands with Flip Phillips, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Nat Pierce, Sidney ...

on bass, and Sture Kallin on drums. The album liner notes list the session as having been recorded on September 25; however, Dolphy was reportedly performing with

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 group from September 12 through October 1 at the

Jazz Workshop The Jazz Workshop was a jazz music nightclub in San Francisco, located in North Beach, San Francisco, North Beach at 473 Broadway Street. Numerous live recordings were made there, during its heyday in the 1960s. As of 2016, the space is occupied b ...

in San Francisco, so the recording probably took place earlier in the month, prior to Dolphy's departure for the U.S. The remaining tracks ("Miss Ann" (mistitled as "Ann"), " God Bless the Child", "

Left Alone Left Alone is a punk rock band from Wilmington, California. They were formed in May 1996 by lead vocalist and guitarist Elvis Cortez. Cortez formed his own label, Smelvis Records, to release Left Alone's records, and has since expanded the l ...

" (mistitled as "Alone"), and "G.W." (mistitled as "Geewee")), were recorded on November 19 for a TV special. "God Bless the Child" is a Dolphy bass clarinet solo, while the other tracks from that date feature him along with

Idrees Sulieman Idrees Sulieman (August 7, 1923 – July 23, 2002) was an American bebop, bop and hard bop trumpeter. Biography He was born Leonard Graham in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, later changing his name to Idrees Sulieman, after converting ...

on trumpet, Rune Ofwerman on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Sture Kallin on drums.

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 innovative music can serve as a strong introduction of Eric Dolphy's talents to bebop fans who have not yet grasped the avant-garde." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''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 ...

'' awarded the album 3 stars, and commented: "here and there Dolphy seems to be having problems with reed, mouthpiece or articulation. Perhaps he was simply tired."

Track listing

# "Les" (mistitled as "Loss") (Dolphy) – 3:58 # "Serene" (mistitled as "Sorino") (Dolphy) – 12:00 # "Miss Ann" (mistitled as "Ann") (Dolphy) – 4:11 # " God Bless the Child" (

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

Arthur Herzog Jr. Arthur Herzog Jr. (December 13, 1900 in New York City – September 1, 1983 in Detroit, Michigan) was a songwriter and composer. Career Herzog was most known for work with Billie Holiday. He co-wrote several jazz songs she popularized, inclu ...

) – 5:26 # "

" (mistitled as "Alone") (

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

) – 5:19 # "G.W." (mistitled as "Geewee") (Dolphy) – 6:00 # " Don't Blame Me" (

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

) – 12:07 # "Serene" (mistitled as "Sorino") (Dolphy) (alternate) – 7:40

Personnel

– alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute * Knud Jorgensen – piano (tracks 1, 2, and 7) *

– trumpet (tracks 3, 6 and 8) * Rune Ofwerman – piano (tracks 3, 5, 6 and 8) *

– bass * Sture Kallin – drums

References

{{Reflist 1981 albums Eric Dolphy albums