Bass player Ron Carters debut album Where? features Eric Dolphy (clarinet, sax, flute) and Mal Waldron (piano). The album was originally released in 1961 having been recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studios in New Jersey. This new edition is released as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Tip-On Jacket with obi.This 1961 set has appeared underEric Dolphy’s name, but it is, in fact, bassist Ron Carter’s date – his first as a leader. Carter andDolphyhad played together inChico Hamilton’s group and onDolphy’s important 1960 dateOut There. Where? has elements in common with both, but is closer to Hamilton’s late-’50s chamber jazz than to the more outward-bound Dolphy date. As on the Dolphy session, Carter is heard on cello for three of the six tracks. Carter’s skill is undeniable, but his playing on Where? is a bit polite and monochromatic.

The easygoing duet with George Duvivier, for example, is a quiet, back-porch conversation that makes few demands on either of these bass giants. Dolphy – playing bass clarinet, alto sax, and flute is a far more interesting prospect, even if he doesn’t blow his face off to the extent he did in other settings. Pianist Mal Waldron is characteristically dry, economical, and swinging. Drummer Charlie Persip quietly impresses with thoughtful, detailed work. Duvivier is on bass when Carter plays cello. The tracks comprise two Carter originals, two standards, and a pair of Randy Weston numbers. Weston’s “Saucer Eyes,” the album’s best track, features a strong group performance, a superbly laconic statement from Waldron, Dolphy’s ebullient flute, and captivating brush work from Persip. Carter’s “Rally,” with Dolphy’s freewheeling bass clarinet and the composer’s most adventurous cello work on this set, is closest in spirit to Dolphy’s own dates from this period. via Label

Label: Craft Recordings, New Jazz, Prestige
Series: Original Jazz Classics
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180g
Reissued: 2024 / Original Release: 1962
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop, Post Bop, Bop

File under: Audiophile Jazz