Alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist Eric Dolphy was influenced by bebop, Igor Stravinsky, John Coltrane and—as much as anything else—birdsongs. He died young of undiagnosed diabetes while on European tour, shortly after the New York recording session that yielded a pair of LPs, Conversations and Iron Man. Those two albums are reissued as part of Musical Prophet along with what producer Zev Feldman assures us in his liner notes are the best of previously undiscovered outtakes.
Dolphy’s music remains remarkable and relatively timeless, soulful and spontaneous with an elastically rhythmic snap. On “Music Matador,” he draws from the joyous tempo of the Caribbean from where his family came. Dolphy drove the sax to its technical limits, but his assured humility seemed to whisper: “I’m not here to show off.” The three-disc set includes an extensive booklet.
