Importance of Being Eric Dolphy (Jazz avant-garde)

In his tragically short life (1928-1964), Eric Dolphy was a titanic force in the development of the sixties avant-garde (or "new thing") from the hard bop of the late fifties. The searing intensity and sonic exploration of his work on alto sax, bass & Bâ™­clarinets, and flute derived in part from the concurrent innovations of Coltrane, Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, and Andrew Hill, among others; previous jazz styles such as New Orleans and bop; various non-Western musics; and modern classical music (e.g. Varese). Dolphy pioneered extended solo jazz compositions, was prominent in the "third stream" movement (led by John Lewis & Gunther Schuller), and remains a major influence on musicians today for the personal, speech-like inflections of his playing.