‘Far Cry’: The Music of Eric Dolphy

Eric Dolphy was a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist whose fertile imagination and boundless energy made him a uniquely dynamic and arresting performer and composer. Straddling the boundaries of bebop, the classical avant-garde, bird song and free jazz, Dolphy’s music has had its share of critics as well as ardent fans.

Tonight Far Cry returns to explore this unprecedented music and celebrate this unique musician. Special guest Ollie Miller (cello) is featured in music from the album Out There, alongside reed players Paul Cutlan and Peter Farrar, Steve Elphick on double bass, James Waples on drums and Luke Sweeting on piano.

Join us for a memorable night of very in-the-moment musicianship.

“Eric Dolphy​ polarised people: to those with the ears to hear he was a revolutionary genius, while to others he was a charlatan, excessively fond of dissonance. He could write melodies as exultant as a leap in the air and first lit up the world 60 years ago, his radical conception already fully formed. This was a complete reimagining​ of what an alto saxophone, a bass clarinet or a flute could be; of what a solo could be; of what jazz could be. Paul Cutlan​ assembled musicians to play Dolphy’s compositions who would not denude them of their mystery or reduce their magic to pedestrianism. … arched, edgy and untamed”. John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald