AMG Review of Stockholm Sessions [2007 Reissue]

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

The music on this CD (the original LP program plus a second version of "Sorino") is taken from a radio aircheck and a TV special, both originating from Stockholm. The remarkable Eric Dolphy (switching between alto, bass clarinet, and flute) performed two of his originals plus "Don't Blame Me" with a sympathetic quartet on the aircheck while the television show (does this film still exist?) features him in a quintet with trumpeter Idrees Sulieman playing three more originals, Mal Waldron's "Alone," and his unaccompanied bass clarinet feature "God Bless the Child." This innovative music can serve as a strong introduction of Eric Dolphy's talents to bebop fans who have not yet grasped the avant-garde. [Enja's 2007 reissue featured alternate album art.]