by Don Berryman

In early 2005, I got a taste of Dolphy’s music played live. I went into the Artists’ Quarter in St. Paul, Minnesota, to listen to Eric Kamau Gravatt’s band Source Code. That night, vibraphonist Dave Hagedorn brought in a chart he had transcribed for Dolphy’s “Hat and Beard.” The chart was new to the band, and the material challenging, but the sound knocked me out. I spoke with Hagedorn during a break and asked if he would be interested in putting together a group performance of all the tunes from Out To Lunch. He was excited about the prospect. Subsequently, the Twin Cities Jazz Society board agreed to sponsor the event as part of its annual concert series. Dave assembled an ensemble of the area’s best musicians including himself on vibes, Kelly Rossum on trumpet, Phil Hey on drums, Tom Lewis on bass, and multi-instrumentalist Dave Milne on alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute.

On February 17th, 2006, despite a driving snowstorm and bitter cold, the Twin Cities Jazz Society’s “Jazz from J to Z” Concert Series installment “Still Out To Lunch: The Music of Eric Dolphy Live” was an unqualified success. Before an enthusiastic crowd at St. Olaf College in Northfield, the quintet performed all the music from Out To Lunch. The performance was superb and full of passion.

The band was eager to keep the project going. JazzPolice.com and Kenny Horst at the Artists’ Quarter in St. Paul agreed and decided to record it live. On June 2nd and 3rd, OTLQ performed Out To Lunch again at the Artists’ Quarter, expanded it with other Dolphy works, and added an original tune by band member Rossum, “Rush Hour.” Jazz is a living thing; as musicians respond to each other, they also feed off the energy of the crowd reacting to the music. On those two nights in June, the Artists’ Quarter was electric with excitement and the band was stellar. This recording captures that excitement and preserves the beauty of the music.

Kenny and Dawn Horst with Don Berryman at the AQ