Dolphy sound proves elusive despite ensemble’s efforts

The “Mostly Dolphy” concert by the Luckman Jazz Orchestra on Saturday night at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex was a good idea in principle. The subject of the program -- multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy -- was a true Southland jazz treasure, one of the most innovative artists of a period in which innovation was on the front burner. His remarkable accomplishments have never quite received the attention they deserve since he died in 1964 at age 36 in a diabetic coma during a European tour.

But neither Dolphy’s playing nor his compositions are easy subjects for reexamination -- which may be one reason why the LJO program was titled “Mostly Dolphy.” And despite the concert’s undeniable musical appeals, it rarely found ways to illuminate the length and breadth of his remarkable accomplishments.

The evening’s most insightful Dolphy moments, in fact, were not performances at all but a recollection by friend and former associate Buddy Collette, also a multi-instrumentalist. His brief anecdotal tales provided a fascinating overview of the determination, the drive and the tireless work habits that powered Dolphy’s musical accomplishments.

Another compelling -- if less Dolphy-associated -- segment of the concert featured tuba player William Roper in the role of singer and musical shaman during a performance of Charles Mingus’ “Fables of Faubus.” Dolphy was once a vital member of the Mingus band (as well as groups led by Chico Hamilton and John Coltrane, among others), but “Fables of Faubus” was primarily a Mingus accomplishment -- a sardonic musical indictment of the anti-integrationist Arkansas Gov. Orville Faubus.

Roper’s odd but compelling combination of singing, narration and tuba playing was a highlight of the concert -- good enough to warrant further performances from this thoughtful, entertaining artist.

Efforts to find the Dolphy groove in solo efforts by saxophonist Charles Owens and trombonist Isaac Smith, however, stumbled on a tendency to emphasize wild note flurries and multiphonic sounds -- which represented only a portion of Dolphy’s improvisational style. And the few Dolphy compositions performed by the full ensemble, “Fire Waltz,” “The Prophet” and “Far Cry” among them, were shaky representations at best -- indications of the difficulties of illuminating the inner workings of Dolphy’s remarkable musical mind.