Tears for Dolphy — Ted Curson (Fontana, 1964)

Curson was born in Philadelphia in nineteen thirty-five. He moved to New York in nineteen fifty-six at the suggestion of Miles Davis and quickly found his way into some of the most adventurous music of the era. Featured tracks: Kassim, Tears for Dolphy Deep in the Stacks is a daily jazz podcast from Kissa Kissa in Brooklyn.

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Transcript

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Eric Dolphy died in Berlin on June 29, 1964. He was 36 years old. Less than two months later, Ted Kirsten, a trumpeter who had shared a bandstand with Dolphy in one of the most important small groups in jazz history, went into the studio and recorded a tribute. Not a memorial concert. Not a standards date with a dedication in the liner notes. A full album of original compositions written in the shadow of that loss. This is Deep in the Stacks. Today's album, Tears for Dolphy, by Ted Kurson. Kurson was born in Philadelphia in 1935. He moved to New York in 1956 at the suggestion of Miles Davis and quickly found his way into some of the most adventurous music of the era. In 1960, he joined Charles Mingus's quartet alongside Dolphy and drummer Danny Richmond, a group that pushed jazz toward new territory on recordings like Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus. After that band dissolved, Curson and Dolphy stayed connected, playing together on various sessions through 1961. Tears for Dolphy was recorded in August 1964 for the Fontana label, produced by Alan Bates. The quartet featured Bill Barron on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Herb Bushler on bass, and Dick Burke on drums. It's six tracks of music that refuses to sit still. Barron's 7-4 Funny Time plays with odd meters. Casim opens with a searching modal feel, and Quicksand lives up to its name, with shifting ground underneath the soloists. The title track itself runs over eight minutes, Curson's trumpet moving between tenderness and something raw, a sound shaped by grief that never turns sentimental. Barron, brother of pianist Kenny Barron, was the ideal foil for Curson, his clarinet and tenor adding tonal contrast without softening the edges. Try Cassim first. It opens the album with a sense of arrival. Curson's trumpet has a bright, slightly rough edge tone that pulls you in immediately. Barron's tenor answers him with lines that feel both composed and spontaneous. Tears for Dolphy is the emotional center of the record, over eight minutes of Curson working through something real. His phrasing has a vocal quality, bending notes in ways that suggest a conversation with someone who can no longer answer. This is a record born from loss, but it's not a sad album. It's alive with the energy of musicians honoring a friend by playing their best. Tears for Dolphy by Ted Curson. Grief transformed into some of the most vital small group jazz of 1964. I'm Danny from Kissa Kissa in Brooklyn. Go put on a record. We'll see you tomorrow.