Fire Waltz

AMG Review of Fire Waltz

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

In the mid-to-late '70s, Prestige, in their valuable series of two-LP sets, reissued virtually all of their Eric Dolphy recordings. This particular two-fer features Dolphy technically as a sideman in dates led by altoist Ken McIntyre and pianist Mal Waldron, but in both cases he quickly emerges as the most memorable soloist. On the former date, Dolphy and McIntyre (joined by pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., bassist Sam Jones and drummer Art Taylor) perform five of the leader's challenging originals along with George Gershwin's "They All Laughed," while the Waldron session also features the very distinctive tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin, Ron Carter on cello, bassist Joe Benjamin and drummer Charlie Persip on seven then-recent Waldron pieces. This adventurous music makes most hard bop of the period sound dated in comparison.