Eric Dolphy on The Finally Friday Freakout

I'm going to be honest. I don't know who Eric Dolphy is or why he is important to jazz. I'll tell you how I found him. I was looking at a advertisement for the Pasadena Jazz Festival.

I don't know most of the people on the ad. This is more my shame than the performers. I wasn't brought up in the jazz tradition. Jazz was separate from Funk.

I was raised a Funkateer. I will never turn my back on Funk. That doesn't mean I close my ears to other forms of music. I have an album around here with Chick Corea playing classical music. I knew that he was primarily a jazz performer but he was stepping out. I like classical so I took a chance.



I'm getting to the point, honest. Ok, so I watched some of Chick's work but in the sidebar are Eric Dolphy videos. I click on a video that lead to another that lead to this video from Germany.

I don't know the name of the tune.

Hollywood film, video and music makers are petitioning any one that will listen (FCC and Congress) to keep people from uploading copyrighted content. I am not for stealing other people's works. Really, I'm not.

The industry and the unions want more fines, imprisonment, non-net neutrality and anything that will keep people from uploading their content. I'm not saying they don't have rights. The way they are going about it is often wrong and ultimately will drive people away from what they claim to cherish. Money.

Yes, there are industrial bootleggers and pirates. Go after them.

Music content is a part of my cultural heritage. I want to know what I have missed.

Fans of performers want other people to discover their favorite artists. Other people do not want the art form known as Jazz to die a ignored death.

Even if I knew what to ask for I can't beg any of my local radio stations to play jazz artists that are not under the "Smooth Jazz" formula. No disrespect intended.

The programed play list is all knowing, all limited. All locked into the major recording labels so that independents don't have a chance of being seen or heard.

What if you want something different and don't know what it is until you hear or see it?

That is what happened this evening. I found something different and I liked it.