Editing Eric Dolphy (section)

==Career==
Dolphy had his big break when he was invited to join [[Chico Hamilton]]'s quintet in 1958.<ref name= sparked /> With the group he became known to a wider audience and was able to tour extensively through 1958–59, when he left Hamilton's group and moved to New York City.<ref name="feather" /> Dolphy appears on flute with Hamilton's band in the film ''[[Jazz on a Summer's Day]]'', documenting a performance at the 1958 [[Newport Jazz Festival]].

===Partnerships===
====Charles Mingus====
[[Charles Mingus]] had known Dolphy from growing up in Los Angeles,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://downbeat.com/news/detail/eric-dolphy-the-prophet-of-freedom/P1 |title=Eric Dolphy: The 'Prophet' of Freedom |last=Lutz |first=Phillip |website=Downbeat.com |date=December 17, 2018 |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627034858/https://downbeat.com/news/detail/eric-dolphy-the-prophet-of-freedom/P1 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the younger man joined Mingus' Jazz Workshop in 1960, shortly after arriving in New York.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dunkel | first = Mario | title = Aesthetics of Resistance: Charles Mingus and the Civil Rights Movement | publisher =LIT Verlag | year = 2012 | pages=56 }}</ref> He took part in Mingus' big band recording ''[[Pre-Bird]]'' (sometimes re-released as ''Mingus Revisited''), and is featured on "Bemoanable Lady".<ref>{{cite book | editor-first1=Michael |editor-last1=Erlewine | editor-first2=Vladimir |editor-last2=Bogdanov |editor-first3=Chris |editor-last3=Woodstra |editor-first4=Scott |editor-last4=Yanow |title=All Music Guide to Jazz |edition=2nd |publisher=Miller Freeman | year=1996|page=514}}</ref> Later he joined Mingus' working band at the Showplace during 1960 (memorialized in the poem "Mingus at the Showplace" by [[William Matthews (poet)|William Matthews]]),<ref>{{cite book | last = Matthews | first = William | author-link = William Matthews (poet) | title = Time and Money: New Poems | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company | year = 1995 | pages=5 }}</ref> and appeared on the leader's two Candid label albums, ''[[Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus]]'' and ''[[Mingus (Charles Mingus album)|Mingus]]''.  Dolphy, Mingus said, "was a complete musician. He could fit anywhere. He was a fine lead alto in a big band. He could make it in a classical group. And, of course, he was entirely his own man when he soloed.... He had mastered jazz. And he had mastered all the instruments he played. In fact, he knew more than was supposed to be possible to do on them."<ref name="limelight">{{cite AV media notes |title=[[Last Date (Eric Dolphy album)|Last Date]] |others=Eric Dolphy |type=liner notes |year=1964 |publisher=[[Limelight Records|Limelight]] }}</ref> In the same year, Dolphy took part in the Mingus led Jazz Artist Guild project and its [[Newport Rebels]] recording session.<ref>{{cite book | last = Goodman | first = John | title = Mingus Speaks | publisher = University of California Press | year = 2013 | pages=208 }}</ref> 

Touring in Europe with Mingus in 1961, Dolphy continued on to perform as a solo artist, and he was recorded in Scandinavia and [[Berlin]]. (See ''[[The Berlin Concerts]]'', ''[[The Complete Uppsala Concert]]'', ''[[Eric Dolphy in Europe]]'' Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (1 and 3 were also released as ''Copenhagen Concert''), and ''[[Stockholm Sessions]]''.<ref>{{cite book | editor-first1=Michael |editor-last1=Erlewine | editor-first2=Vladimir |editor-last2=Bogdanov |editor-first3=Chris |editor-last3=Woodstra |editor-first4=Scott |editor-last4=Yanow |title=All Music Guide to Jazz |edition=2nd |publisher=Miller Freeman | year=1996|page=206}}</ref>) He was later among the musicians who worked on ''[[Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus]]'' in 1963, and is featured on "Hora Decubitus".

In early 1964, Dolphy returned to Mingus' working band,<ref name="feather" /> now including [[Jaki Byard]], [[Johnny Coles]], and [[Clifford Jordan]]. This sextet worked at the [[Five Spot]] before playing at [[Cornell University]] and [[The Town Hall (New York City)|Town Hall]] in New York (both were recorded: ''[[Cornell 1964]]'' and ''[[Town Hall Concert]]'') and subsequently touring Europe. The short tour is well-documented on ''[[Revenge! (Charles Mingus album)|Revenge!]]'', ''[[The Great Concert of Charles Mingus]]'', ''[[Mingus in Europe Volume I]]'', and ''[[Mingus in Europe Volume II]]''.

====John Coltrane====
Dolphy and [[John Coltrane]] knew each other long before they formally played together, having met when Coltrane was in Los Angeles with [[Johnny Hodges]] in 1954.<ref>{{cite book | last = Porter | first = Lewis | author-link = Lewis Porter | title = John Coltrane: His Life and Music | publisher = The University of Michigan Press | year = 1999 | pages=94 }}</ref><ref name="Ratliff 2007 68">{{cite book | last = Ratliff | first = Ben | author-link = Ben Ratliff | title = Coltrane: The Story of a Sound | publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux | year = 2007 | pages=68 }}</ref> They would often exchange ideas and learn from each other,<ref name="thomas_80">{{cite book | last1=Thomas|first1=Lorenzo| last2=Nielsen|first2=Aldon|title=Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor |year=2008 | pages=80 }}</ref> and eventually, after many nights sitting in with Coltrane's band, Dolphy was asked to become a full member in early 1961.<ref>{{cite book | last = Porter | first = Lewis | author-link = Lewis Porter | title = John Coltrane: His Life and Music | publisher = The University of Michigan Press | year = 1999 | pages=192 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Thomas | first = J.C. | title = Chasin' the Trane | publisher = Da Capo Press | year = 1975 | pages=142 }}</ref> Coltrane had gained an audience and critical notice with [[Miles Davis]]'s quintet, but alienated some leading jazz critics when he began to move away from [[hard bop]]. Although Coltrane's quintets with Dolphy (including the ''[[The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings|Village Vanguard]]'' and ''[[Africa/Brass]]'' sessions) are now accepted, they originally provoked ''[[DownBeat]]'' magazine to brand Coltrane and Dolphy's music as 'anti-jazz'. Coltrane later said of this criticism: "they made it appear that we didn't even know the first thing about music (...) it hurt me to see [Dolphy] get hurt in this thing."<ref name="Kofsky">{{cite book| first= Eric| last= Dolphy| interviewer= [[Frank Kofsky]] | title= Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music| year= 1973| page= 242| publisher= University of Pittsburgh }}</ref>

The initial release of Coltrane's residency at the Vanguard selected [[Coltrane "Live" at the Village Vanguard|three tracks]], only one of which featured Dolphy. After being issued haphazardly over the next 30 years, a comprehensive [[box-set]] featuring the music recorded at the Vanguard was released on ''[[Impulse! Records|Impulse!]]'' in 1997, called ''[[The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings]]''. The set features Dolphy heavily on both alto saxophone and bass clarinet, with Dolphy the featured soloist on their renditions of "[[Naima]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-1961-village-vanguard-recordings-mw0000026678 |title=John Coltrane: Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings |last=Jurek |first=Thom |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927164419/https://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-1961-village-vanguard-recordings-mw0000026678 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2001 [[Pablo Records|Pablo]] box set, drawing on recordings of Coltrane's performances from his European tours of the early 1960s, features tunes absent from the 1961 Village Vanguard material, such as "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]", which Dolphy performs on flute.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-trane-the-european-tours-mw0000591728 |title=John Coltrane: Live Trane: The European Tours |last=Dryden |first=Ken |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

====Booker Little====
Trumpeter [[Booker Little]] and Dolphy had a short-lived musical partnership.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-at-100-hour-71-silenced-in-their-prime-eric-dolphy-and-booker-little-1961-1964-eric-dolphy |title=Silenced In Their Prime – Eric Dolphy & Booker Little (1961–1964) |last=Perry |first=Russell |date=February 4, 2020 |website=AllAboutJazz.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627070012/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-at-100-hour-71-silenced-in-their-prime-eric-dolphy-and-booker-little-1961-1964-eric-dolphy |url-status=live }}</ref> Little's leader date for [[Candid Records|Candid]], ''[[Out Front (Booker Little album)|Out Front]]'', featured Dolphy mainly on alto sax, though he played bass clarinet and flute on some ensemble passages. In addition, Dolphy's album ''[[Far Cry (album)|Far Cry]]'', recorded for [[Prestige Records|Prestige]], features Little on five tunes (one of which, "Serene", was not included on the original LP release).

Dolphy and Little also co-led a quintet at the Five Spot during 1961. The rhythm section consisted of [[Richard Davis (double bassist)|Richard Davis]], [[Mal Waldron]] and [[Ed Blackwell]].<ref name="baker" /> One night was documented and has been released as ''[[At the Five Spot]]'' (plus a ''Memorial Album'') as well as the compilation ''[[Here and There (Eric Dolphy album)|Here and There]]''. In addition, both Dolphy and Little backed [[Abbey Lincoln]] on her album ''[[Straight Ahead (Abbey Lincoln album)|Straight Ahead]]'' and played on [[Max Roach]]'s ''[[Percussion Bitter Sweet]]''. Little died at the age of 23 in October 1961.

====Others====
Dolphy also performed on key recordings by [[George Russell (composer)|George Russell]] (''[[Ezz-thetics]]''), [[Oliver Nelson]] (''[[Screamin' the Blues]]'', ''[[The Blues and the Abstract Truth]]'', and ''[[Straight Ahead (Oliver Nelson album)|Straight Ahead]]''), and [[Ornette Coleman]] (''[[Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation]]'' and the ''Free Jazz'' outtake on ''[[Twins (Ornette Coleman album)|Twins]]''). He also worked and recorded with [[Gunther Schuller]] (''[[Jazz Abstractions]]''), multi-instrumentalist [[Makanda Ken McIntyre|Ken McIntyre]] (''[[Looking Ahead (Makanda Ken McIntyre album)|Looking Ahead]]''), bassist [[Ron Carter]] (''[[Where? (album)|Where?]]''), and pianist [[Mal Waldron]] (''[[The Quest (Mal Waldron album)|The Quest]]'').

===As a leader===
Dolphy's recording career as a leader began with [[Prestige Records|Prestige]]. His association with the label spanned 13 albums recorded from April 1960 to September 1961, though he was not the leader for all of the sessions. [[Fantasy Records|Fantasy]] released a 9-CD box set in 1995 containing all of Dolphy's recorded output for Prestige.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-prestige-recordings-mw0000178319 |title=Eric Dolphy: The Complete Prestige Recordings |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101115442/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-prestige-recordings-mw0000178319 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dolphy's first two albums as leader were ''[[Outward Bound (Eric Dolphy album)|Outward Bound]]'' and ''[[Out There (Eric Dolphy album)|Out There]]''; both featured cover artwork by [[Richard Slater Jennings|Richard "Prophet" Jennings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flophousemagazine.com/tag/richard-prophet-jennings |title=Richard "Prophet" Jennings |last=van de Linde |first=François |website=FlopHouseMagazine.com |date=April 21, 2016 |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814001513/http://flophousemagazine.com/tag/richard-prophet-jennings/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="baker" /> The first, sounding closer to hard bop than some later releases,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/outward-bound-mw0000649482 |title=Eric Dolphy Quintet / Eric Dolphy: Outward Bound |last=Rovi Staff |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030055422/https://www.allmusic.com/album/outward-bound-mw0000649482 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outward-bound-eric-dolphy-prestige-records-review-by-j-hunter.php |title=Eric Dolphy Quintet: Outward Bound |last=Hunter |first=J |date=November 14, 2006 |website=AllAboutJazz.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628132207/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outward-bound-eric-dolphy-prestige-records-review-by-j-hunter.php |url-status=live }}</ref> was recorded at [[Rudy Van Gelder]]'s studio in New Jersey with trumpeter [[Freddie Hubbard]], who shared rooms with Dolphy for a time when the two men first arrived in New York.<ref>{{cite book | last = Yanow | first = Scott | author-link = Scott Yanow | title = The Trumpet Kings: The Players who Shaped the Sound of Jazz Trumpet | publisher = Backbeat Books | year = 2001 | pages=195 }}</ref> The album features three Dolphy compositions: "G.W.", dedicated to [[Gerald Wilson]], and the blues "Les" and "245". ''Out There'' is closer to [[third stream]] music,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/hdp2 |title=Eric Dolphy Out There Review |last=Marsh |first=Peter |date=2002 |website=BBC.co.uk |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108034931/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/hdp2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which would also form part of Dolphy's work, and features [[Ron Carter]] on cello. [[Charles Mingus]]'s "Eclipse" from this album is one of the rare instances where Dolphy solos on [[soprano clarinet]] (others being "Warm Canto" from [[Mal Waldron]]'s ''[[The Quest (Mal Waldron album)|The Quest]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quest-mw0000078389 |title=Eric Dolphy / Booker Ervin / Mal Waldron: The Quest |last=Yanow |first=Scott |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629023404/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quest-mw0000078389 |url-status=live }}</ref> "Densities" from the compilation ''[[Vintage Dolphy]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vintage-dolphy-mw0000193773 |title=Eric Dolphy / Vintage Dolphy |last=Yanow |first=Scott |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020}}</ref> and "Song For The Ram's Horn" from an unreleased recording from a 1962 Town Hall concert).

Dolphy occasionally recorded unaccompanied saxophone solos;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jazztimes.com/archives/solo-saxophone-flights |title=Solo Saxophone Flights |last=Shoemaker |first=Bill |date=April 25, 2019 |website=JazzTimes.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630035149/https://jazztimes.com/archives/solo-saxophone-flights/ |url-status=live }}</ref> his only predecessors were the tenor players [[Coleman Hawkins]] ("Picasso", 1948)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/coleman-hawkins-mn0000776363/biography |title=Coleman Hawkins |last=Yannow |first=Scott |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429082159/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/coleman-hawkins-mn0000776363/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Sonny Rollins]] (for example, "Body and Soul", 1958),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonny-rollins-and-the-big-brass-mw0000047321 |title=Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass |last=Dryden |first=Ken |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423015200/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonny-rollins-and-the-big-brass-mw0000047321 |url-status=live }}</ref> making Dolphy the first to do so on alto. The album ''Far Cry'' contains his performance of the [[Walter Gross (musician)|Gross]]-[[Jack Lawrence (songwriter)|Lawrence]] standard "[[Tenderly]]" on alto saxophone,<ref>{{cite thesis |type=DMus |last=Branter |first=David |date=2008 |title=Melody Retained and Sound Explored: Elements of Structure and Expression in the Unaccompanied Alto Saxophone Performances of Eric Dolphy |publisher=Indiana University}}</ref> and, on his subsequent tour of Europe, [[Billie Holiday]]'s "[[God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)|God Bless the Child]]" was featured in his sets.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jannotta |first=Roger |date=1977 |title='God Bless the Child:' An Analysis of an Unaccompanied Bass Clarinet Solo by Eric Dolphy |journal=Jazzforschung/Jazz Research |issue=9 |pages=37–48 }}</ref> (The earliest known version was recorded at the Five Spot during his residency with [[Booker Little]].) He also recorded two takes of a short solo rendition of "Love Me" in 1963, released on ''Conversations'' and ''Muses''.

[[Twentieth century classical music|Twentieth-century classical music]] was also part of Dolphy's musical career. He was very familiar with the music of composers such as [[Anton Webern]] and [[Alban Berg]],<ref name="thomas_80" /> had a large record collection that included music by these composers, as well as by [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], and [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]],<ref>{{cite book | last1=Thomas|first1=Lorenzo| last2=Nielsen|first2=Aldon|title=Don't Deny My Name: Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition | publisher=University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor |year=2008 | pages=77 }}</ref> and owned scores by composers such as [[Milton Babbitt]], [[Donald Erb]], [[Charles Ives]], and [[Olivier Messiaen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=1&_jump=ed01 |title=Eric Dolphy collection, 1939–1964 |website=loc.gov |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212332/https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=1&_jump=ed01 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=126&_lines=125 |title=Eric Dolphy collection, 1939–1964 |website=loc.gov |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205557/https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.music.eadmus.mu014006&_start=126&_lines=125 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-james-newton |title=Interview with James Newton |last=Iverson |first=Ethan |website=EthanIverson.com |date=6 June 2017 |access-date=July 6, 2021 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711184800/https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-james-newton/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He visited [[Edgard Varèse]] at his home,<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions |others=Eric Dolphy |type=liner notes |last=Davis |first=Richard |year=2019 |publisher=Resonance Records |pages=46 |id=HCD-2035}}</ref> and performed the composer's ''[[Density 21.5]]'' for solo flute at the [[Ojai Music Festival]] in 1962.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| first= Barry Dean| last= Kernfeld| title= New Grove Dictionary of Jazz| page= 632| year= 2002| publisher= Macmillan |isbn= 0-333-69189-X}}</ref> Dolphy also participated in [[Gunther Schuller]]'s and [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]]'s [[Third Stream]] efforts of the 1960s, appearing on the album ''[[Jazz Abstractions]]'', and admired the Italian flute virtuoso [[Severino Gazzelloni]], after whom he named his composition ''Gazzelloni''.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Stephans|first1=Michael| title=Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion | publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] | year=2013 | pages=235 }}</ref>

Around 1962–63, one of Dolphy's working bands included the pianist [[Herbie Hancock]], who can be heard on ''[[The Illinois Concert]]'', ''Gaslight 1962'', and the unissued Town Hall concert with poet [[Ree Dragonette]].

In July 1963, producer [[Alan Douglas (record producer)|Alan Douglas]] arranged recording sessions for which Dolphy's sidemen were emerging musicians of the day, and the results produced the albums ''[[Iron Man (Eric Dolphy album)|Iron Man]]'' and ''[[Conversations (Eric Dolphy album)|Conversations]]'', as well as the ''Muses'' album released in Japan in late 2013. These sessions marked the first time Dolphy played with [[Bobby Hutcherson]], whom he knew from Los Angeles, and whose sister he dated at one point.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/arts/music/bobby-hutcherson-dies-jazz.html |title=Bobby Hutcherson, Vibraphonist With Coloristic Range of Sound, Dies at 75 |last=Chinen |first=Nate |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=May 21, 2020 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160816072024/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/arts/music/bobby-hutcherson-dies-jazz.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> The sessions are perhaps best known for the three duets Dolphy performs with bassist [[Richard Davis (double bassist)|Richard Davis]] on "Alone Together", "Ode To Charlie Parker", and "Come Sunday"; the aforementioned release ''Muses'' adds another take of "Alone Together" and an original composition for duet from which the album takes its name.

In 1964, Dolphy signed with [[Blue Note Records]] and recorded ''[[Out to Lunch!]]'' with [[Freddie Hubbard]], [[Bobby Hutcherson]], [[Richard Davis (double bassist)|Richard Davis]] and [[Tony Williams (drummer)|Tony Williams]]. This album features Dolphy's fully developed avant-garde yet structured compositional style rooted in tradition. It is often considered his ''magnum opus''.<ref name="Huey">{{cite web |last1=Huey |first1=Steve |title=Out to Lunch |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/out-to-lunch-mw0000241418 |website=AllMusic |access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref>

=== European career ===
After ''[[Out to Lunch!]]'' and an appearance on pianist/composer [[Andrew Hill (jazz musician)|Andrew Hill]]'s Blue Note album ''[[Point of Departure (Andrew Hill album)|Point of Departure]]'', Dolphy left for Europe with Charles Mingus' sextet in early 1964. Before a concert in [[Oslo]], Norway, he informed Mingus that he planned to stay in Europe after their tour was finished, partly because he had become disillusioned with the United States' reception of musicians who were trying something new. Mingus then named the blues they had been performing "So Long Eric". Dolphy intended to settle in Europe with his fiancée Joyce Mordecai, who was working in the ballet scene in [[Paris]], France.<ref name= Ratliff /> After leaving Mingus, he performed and recorded a few sides with various European bands, and American musicians living in Paris, such as [[Donald Byrd]] and [[Nathan Davis (saxophonist)|Nathan Davis]]. ''[[Last Date (Eric Dolphy album)|Last Date]]'', originally a radio broadcast of a concert in [[Hilversum]] in the Netherlands, features [[Misha Mengelberg]] and [[Han Bennink]], although it was not Dolphy's last public performance. Dolphy was also planning to join [[Albert Ayler]]'s group,<ref name= sparked /> and, according to Jeanne Phillips, quoted in [[A. B. Spellman]]'s ''Four Jazz Lives'', was preparing himself to play with [[Cecil Taylor]].<ref>{{cite book | last =Spellman | first =A.B. | author-link = A. B. Spellman | title =Four Jazz Lives | publisher =University of Michigan Press | year = 2004 | pages=15 | quote=Eric had all Cecil's records, and his whole thing is that he wanted to play with Cecil. Eric... used to say, 'I think I'm learning how to play with Cecil.' He kept on saying this to me because he didn't feel like he could say it to Cecil... It was the weirdest thing. Before Eric went to Europe, he told me about a dream he had had. He dreamt he was on the bandstand with Cecil and another clarinet player... he was waiting for his turn to play. He said he kept saying to himself, 'At last, I'm going to play with Cecil.' And before he could play, he fell down dead on the bandstand. This was the last time I talked to him before he went to Europe, and the next thing I heard, Eric had died of a heart attack on the stage in Berlin. It was the weirdest thing.}}</ref> He also planned to form a band with [[Woody Shaw]], Richard Davis, and [[Billy Higgins]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/impressions-of-eric-dolphy-eric-dolphy-by-clifford-allen.php |title=Impressions Of Eric Dolphy |last=Allen |first=Clifford |date=March 12, 2008 |website=All About Jazz |access-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109021742/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/impressions-of-eric-dolphy-eric-dolphy-by-clifford-allen.php |url-status=live }}</ref> and was writing a [[string quartet]], ''Love Suite''.<ref name="baker" />