Out To Lunch by Eric Dolphy

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Tracklist

    Track     Duration Listeners
1 Hat And Beard (Rudy Van Gelder Edition) (1999 Digital Remaster) 8:22 237
2 Something Sweet, Something Tender (Rudy Van Gelder Edition) (1999 - Remaster) 6:01 192
3 Gazzellioni (Rudy Van Gelder Edition) (1999 Digital Remaster) 7:21 99
4 Out To Lunch 12:05 26,372
5 Straight Up And Down (Rudy Van Gelder Edition) (1999 Digital Remaster) 8:17 135

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About this album

Blue Note 5 tracks (42:06)
Out to Lunch stands as Eric Dolphy’s magnum opus, an absolute pinnacle of avant-garde jazz in any form or era. Its rhythmic complexity was perhaps unrivaled since Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, and its five Dolphy originals — the jarring Monk tribute “Hat and Beard,” the aptly titled “Something Sweet, Something Tender,” the weirdly jaunty flute showcase “Gazzelloni,” the militaristic title track, the drunken lurch of “Straight Up and Down” — were a perfect balance of structured frameworks, carefully calibrated timbres, and generous individual freedom. Much has been written about Dolphy’s odd time signatures, wide-interval leaps, and flirtations with atonality. And those preoccupations reach their peak on Out to Lunch, which is less rooted in bop tradition than anything Dolphy had ever done. But that sort of analytical description simply doesn’t do justice to the utterly alien effect of the album’s jagged soundscapes. Dolphy uses those pet devices for their evocative power and unnerving hints of dementia, not some abstract intellectual exercise. His solos and themes aren’t just angular and dissonant — they’re hugely so, with a definite playfulness that becomes more apparent with every listen. The whole ensemble — trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Tony Williams — takes full advantage of the freedom Dolphy offers, but special mention has to be made of Hutcherson, who has fully perfected his pianoless accompaniment technique. His creepy, floating chords and quick stabs of dissonance anchor the album’s texture, and he punctuates the soloists’ lines at the least expected times, suggesting completely different pulses.

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Shouts

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  • murderbydef222

    Yum

    last month
  • TongueInAspic

    killer album

    March 2012
  • Septacle

    reminds me of lunch with coworkers today. eating mexican but for 30 min talking about how much they love silvertron. haha

    December 2011
  • piribolygo

    the drums

    December 2011
  • Timppa2000

    all of a sudden, this record has sneaked into my jazz top 3.

    August 2011
  • I_LOVE_DONUTS

    This album is like an introduction to free jazz. More 'digestible' than ornette coleman's works for instance.

    September 2010
  • Cox_of_Seagulls

    This album. This fucking album.

    July 2010
  • ZiggyMcjoney

    unique genius. Not something I listen to every day, but when I do, it's a great experience. And yes, the drumming is brilliant here.

    July 2010
  • shamatha-x

    I've always been too busy marveling at everything else to notice the drums, but fuck, they are pretty amazing.

    May 2010
  • Phyllobius

    Ein Meisterwerk.

    December 2009
  • Kirill88

    о-о-о!!! то, что надо!

    November 2009
  • mambajamba

    man i love the vibs

    November 2009
  • Bleach00

    very good.

    August 2009
  • Akbar2Blk

    Baddest horn man of all time...

    August 2009
  • aidanpogo

    Awesome record.

    July 2009
  • g8kusha

    This is one of the best albums of all time.

    May 2009
  • rakshasa07

    Artwork

    May 2009
  • DJWait-A-Minute

    This song definitely holds its place on the long list of Blue Note's Best....not to mention the album cover is wicked.....weren't they all wicked though?

    May 2009
  • kokirininja

    Fuck yes you are the best post-bop album ever.

    February 2009
  • Basses_High

    This album transports me. I'm not sure where exactly to, but it sure as hell isn't somewhere on this shitty little planet.

    February 2009
See all 28 shouts

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