Eric Dolphy Last Date Hybrid Stereo & Mono Japanese Import SACD

"Allegedly Eric Dolphy's final recorded performance — a fact historians roundly dispute — this session in Hilversum, Holland, teams the masterful bass clarinetist, flutist, and alto saxophonist with a Dutch trio of performers who understand the ways in which their hero and leader modified music in such a unique, passionate, and purposeful way far from convention. In pianist Misha Mengelberg, bassist Jacques Schols, and drummer Han Bennink, Dolphy was firmly entwined with a group who understood his off-kilter, pretzel logic concept in shaping melodies and harmonies that were prime extensions of Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Taylor. These three Dolphy originals, one from Monk, one from Mengelberg, and a standard are played so convincingly and with the utmost courage that they created a final stand in the development of how the woodwindist conceived of jazz like no one else before, during, or after his life. Utterly masterful on his flute during 'You Don't Know What Love Is,' Dolphy's high-drama vibrato tones are simply out of this or any other world, perfectly emoting the bittersweet intent of this song. The ribald humor demonstrated during 'Miss Ann' is a signature sound of Dolphy's alto sax, angular like Monk, jovial and more out of the box while he digs in. Where 'Epistrophy' might seem standard fare to some, with Dolphy on bass clarinet it is based on voicings even more obtuse than the composer's concept, bouncing along the wings of Mengelberg's piano lines. The post-bop blues of 'South Street Exit' is tuneful while also breaking off into tangents, with Bennink's crazy drumming acting like shooting, exploding stars. As the definitive track on this album, 'The Madrig Speaks, the Panther Walks' demonstrates the inside-out concept, with mixed tempos changed at will and a 6/8 time insert with Dolphy's choppy alto merging into playful segments as the title suggests — a most delightful track. The ridiculously titled 'Hypochristmutreefuzz' might be the most understated fare in its more simple angularity, as Schols plays his bass in the upper register while the band dances around him. Last Date is one of those legendary albums whose reputation grows with every passing year, and deservedly so. While it reveals more about the genius rhythm section than Dolphy himself, it also marks the passing of one era and the beginning of what has become a most potent and enduring legacy of European creative improvised tradition, started by Mengelberg and Bennink at this mid-'60s juncture." — Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic

Recorded at the Hilversum, Netherlands, on June 2, 1964.

Classical masterpiece collection
The reissue of classical music masterpieces by ESOTERIC has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound, and for using hybrid Super Audio CD technology to improve sound quality. This series marks the first hybrid Super Audio CD release of historical recording selections that have been mainstays of the catalog since their initial release. These new audio versions feature ESOTERIC's proprietary re mastering process to achieve the highest level of sound quality.

New Mastering Environment
The DSD mastering has been processed at the newly introduced the "ESOTERIC MASTERING CENTER", where deploys the latest X-series models from the flagship Grandioso as the core, including the Grandioso D1X, Grandioso C1X, and Grandioso G1X, in addition to the Grandioso S1, a pair of G-02X, MEXCEL cables, the MERGING PYRAMIX by ESOTERIC Original Tuned as DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)/Audio Interface coordinated by Mr. Tetsuya Kato, and re-mastered by Mr. Masaya Tohno under the supervision by Mr. Motoaki Ohmachi.

Re-mastering
Producer: Jo Yoshida (Esoteric Mastering Center)
Executive Producer: Motoaki Ohmachi (Esoteric Mastering Center)
Mastering Engineer: Masaya Tohno (Esoteric Mastering Center)