Iron Man (Eric Dolphy album)

The music on Iron Man was recorded during two dates arranged by Alan Douglas: a July 1, 1963, session featuring just Dolphy and bassist Richard Davis, and a July 3 session with nearly a dozen musicians. The July 1 session produced "Come Sunday" and "Ode to Charlie Parker" and another track, "Alone Together", which appeared on the album Conversations. An alternate version of "Alone Together", along with two previously unreleased versions of a tune written by Roland Hanna titled "Muses for Richard Davis", also recorded that day, appeared on Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions. The remaining three tracks on Iron Man were recorded during the July 3 session, which also yielded the tracks "Jitterbug Waltz", "Music Matador", and "Love Me", released on Conversations. Alternate takes of most of the July 3 pieces can be found on Musical Prophet. Alternate versions of five of the pieces recorded on both July dates also appeared on the 2013 Japanese release Muses. The album liner notes state: The July sessions marked the recorded debut of trumpeter Woody Shaw, who was eighteen at the time. ==Reception==

In an AllMusic review, Steve Huey wrote that, compared to Conversations, "Iron Man is every bit as essential and strikes a more consistent ambience than its widely varied twin. It also more clearly anticipates the detailed, abstract sound paintings of Dolphy's masterwork Out to Lunch, in large part because this time around the program is weighted toward Dolphy originals." He called the recordings "classic sessions" and stated that they "constitute some of the most brilliant work of the early-'60s avant-garde." ==Track listing==

Side 1: • "Iron Man" – 9:07 • "Mandrake" – 4:50 • "Come Sunday" (Ellington) – 6:24 Side 2: • "Burning Spear" – 11:49 • "Ode to Charlie Parker" (Byard) – 8:05 All songs composed by Dolphy except as noted. ==Personnel==

• Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet (tracks 3 and 4), flute (track 5), alto saxophone (tracks 1 and 2) • Richard Davis – bass (tracks 2, 3, 4, and 5) • Clifford Jordan – soprano saxophone (track 4) • Sonny Simmons – alto saxophone (track 4) • Prince Lasha – flute (track 4) • Woody Shaw – trumpet (tracks 1, 2, and 4) • Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone (tracks 1, 2, and 4) • Eddie Khan – bass (tracks 1 and 4) • J.C. Moses – drums (tracks 1, 2, and 4) ==References==