Dolphy & Monk

[street singer]

Was listening to Dolphy's rendition of Monk's "Epistrophy" on the 'Last Date' album and am now wondering...

Did these two ever play together? Record together? If so, I'm not aware of anything. It would be fascinating to hear, that's for sure...

Anyone know?

[Pete C]

I'd be surprised to hear they ever played together, as I've never heard even the suggestion in 30 years of paying close attention to the music and its history. They definitely didn't record together.

Steve Lacy, on the other hand, recorded with Monk on some of the big band dates and spent about 4 months in Monk's group (1960?), making it a quintet. There is a very poor quality location recording of a couple of tunes from one of those gigs, but it was never released in any form to my knowledge.

[jazzbo]

Yes, poor quality indeed!

No I don't believe that Hat and Beard ever did record together. . . .

[street singer]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I guess we can just add this to the "What could have been..." list.

Sigh. -_-

[Alexander Hawkins]

I might be making it up, but I think I've seen a photo posted somewhere on the web of these two together, near a piano. I guess it's possible that they played, in this case? Anyway, wouldn't it have been great if they did!

[jazzbo]

That photo DOES exist.

[jazzbo]

Here's someone else's imaginitive idea:

[couw]

thanks lon, I saw that one too....

Edited February 22, 2004 by couw

[Nate Dorward]

Lacy's gig with Monk wasn't 4 months, I'm pretty sure--I think it was 6 weeks. He's also in the ensemble on Big Band/Quartet though he doesn't get any solo space.

Yes, I remember seeing that photo of Monk & Dolphy. A more interesting question: how many times did Dolphy record a Monk tune? There are two "Epistrophy"s on record plus a memorable "Round Midnight" with George Russell. Any others?

Stuart Broomer tells me that Dave Baker told him that Monk told him (sorry for the chain of "tolds" but I might as well make the provenance of the anecdote clear) that that Russell/Dolphy recording of "Round Midnight" was his (Monk's) favourite cover version of any of his compositions.

Dolphy of course did play with Bud Powell (on Mingus at Antibes).

Edited February 23, 2004 by Nate Dorward

[Nate Dorward]

Just thought of one other: if memory serves Dolphy's in the ensemble on that Atlantic disc with Schuller's "Variations on a Theme of Thelonious Monk" (an arrangement of "Criss Cross" built around Ornette Coleman as soloist).

[street singer]

There are two "Epistrophy"s on record plus a memorable "Round Midnight" with George Russell.

Where can this version of "Round Midnight" be found?

[Lazaro Vega]

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&u...l=A2dqag4abtvjz

[Nate Dorward]

Yeah that's the disc. One of the discs of the early 1960s, & probably "Round Midnight" would vie with "Tenderly" as the Dolphy solo that means most to me. I'm not crazy about the weird faux-concrete opening & close of the arrangement, but Dolphy's statement of the theme & improvisation are powerful enough to pin you against the wall.

If anyone's curious, the 2nd "Epistrophy" I'd referred to was released on an ICP album under Misha Mengelberg's name. I haven't heard it, though I once held a copy in Ray's Jazz Shop & thought hard about it......

[paul secor]

If anyone's curious, the 2nd "Epistrophy" I'd referred to was released on an ICP album under Misha Mengelberg's name.  I haven't heard it, though I once held a copy in Ray's Jazz Shop & thought hard about it......

That ICP album has the Dolphy/Mengelberg group playing "Epistrophy" on one side. The other side is all of two minutes long - Mengelberg playing solo piano, accompanied by his parrot, Eeko. When I listen to it, I start to think, "hey, it might be cool to have a parrot in the house."