One night during a one-time, two-week engagement at the Five Spot produced enough music of lasting merit for three albums. When Rudy Van Gelder took his portable equipment down to the fabled Cooper Square jazz club on July 16, 1961, he captured the interaction of an extraordinary quintet, Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Richard Davis and Ed Blackwell.

• Limited Edition
• Analogue Productions Prestige Stereo Series
• 200 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Cut from Original Analog Master Tapes
• Plated by Gary Salstrom
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings QRP USA
• Deluxe high-gloss tip-on album cover

Part of the ultimate audiophile Prestige stereo reissues from Analogue Productions — 25 of the most collectible, rarest, most audiophile-sounding Rudy Van Gelder recordings ever made. All mastered from the original analog master tapes by mastering maestro Kevin Gray. 200-gram LPs pressed at state-of -the-art plant Quality Record Pressings and plated by Gary Salstrom. Deep groove label pressings, tip-on jackets on thick cardboard stock.

When Rudy Van Gelder took his portable equipment down to the fabled Five Spot Cafe in New York City on July 16, 1961, he had no idea he was about to document music history in the making. Capturing the short-lived but extraordinary quintet of Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Richard Davis and Ed Blackwell during a one-time, two-week engagement, the live material he was fortunate enough to collect that legendary evening produced enough material for not one, not two, but three albums.

Volume 1 finds the group provocatively interpreting the three originals "Fire Waltz" (Waldon), "Bee Vamp" (Little) and "The Prophet" (Dolphy), with both Dolphy and Little turning in bold and innovative performances throughout. Considering the fact Little passed only a few months removed from the date and Dolphy just three years later, makes its significance and strength of the material captured that much more rare and that much more special!

One night during a one-time, two-week engagement at the Five Spot produced enough music of lasting merit for three albums. When Rudy Van Gelder took his portable equipment down to the fabled Cooper Square jazz club on July 16, 1961, he captured the interaction of an extraordinary quintet.

Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Richard Davis and Ed Blackwell had formed a cooperative group and, if Little had not died in October 1961, there is no doubt that it would have been a potent force in the music of the Sixties and beyond. Dolphy himself died in June 1964 after establishing himself as one of the important contemporary reedmen. Here his alto saxophone and bass clarinet and Little's trumpet explore three originals: "The Prophet" by Dolphy, "Bee Vamp" by Little, and "Fire Waltz" by Waldron. It's time caught in a bottle — music for the ages.

Musicians:

Eric Dolphy, alto sax and bass clarinet
Booker Little, trumpet
Mal Waldron, piano
Richard Davis, bass
Eddie Blackwell, drums

Track Listing:

Side A
1. Fire Waltz
2. Bee Vamp (live)

Side B
3. The Prophet

Click here to listen to samples on AllMusic.com ♫