About
Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet solo on "India" is the second of three solos on this Village Vanguard recording, situated between John Coltrane's two soprano saxophone passages. At approximately 207 BPM over the 12-bar modal structure, Dolphy's bass clarinet provides a striking timbral contrast to Coltrane's soprano, his woody, vocal tone and wide intervallic leaps creating an otherworldly quality distinct from Coltrane's more linear approach. At 32 to 33 years old, Dolphy was at the height of his powers as one of the most inventive voices in avant-garde jazz, and his bass clarinet work here demonstrates the instrument's capacity for both dark, reedy depth and agile melodic invention within the Indian-influenced modal framework.
Eric Dolphy was 32 to 33 years old at the time.
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