Kenny Dorham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/21/15, 8:59 AM

Kenny Dorham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924

December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter,
singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's
talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians,
but he never received the kind of attention or public
recognition from the jazz establishment that many of his
peers did. For this reason, writer Gary Giddins said that
Dorham's name has become "virtually synonymous with

Kenny Dorham

underrated."[1] Dorham also composed the jazz standard

"Blue Bossa," which first appeared on Joe Henderson's
album Page One.

Contents

Kenny Dorham at the Metropole Hotel in Toronto,

1954.
Background information

1 Biography
2 Discography

Birth name

McKinley Howard Dorham

Born

August 30, 1924

Fairfield, Texas, United States

Died

December 5, 1972 (aged 48)

New York City, New York, United
States

Genres

Jazz, bebop, mainstream jazz, hard

bop

2.1 As leader
2.2 As sideman
3 References

Biography

Occupation(s) Musician, bandleader, composer

Dorham was one of the most active bebop trumpeters. He

Instruments Trumpet, vocals
played in the big bands of Lionel Hampton, Billy
Associated
Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, Sonny
Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mercer Ellington and the
acts
Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Charlie
quintet of Charlie Parker. He was a charter member of the
original cooperative Jazz Messengers. He also recorded as
Parker, Abbey Lincoln, Hank
a sideman with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, and
Mobley, Max Roach, Horace Silver
he replaced Clifford Brown in the Max Roach Quintet
after Brown's death in 1956. In addition to sideman work, Dorham led his own groups, including the Jazz
Prophets (formed shortly after Art Blakey took over the Jazz Messengers name). The Jazz Prophets,
featuring a young Bobby Timmons on piano, bassist Sam Jones, and tenorman J. R. Monterose, with guest
Kenny Burrell on guitar, recorded a live album 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia in 1956 for Blue
Note.
In 1963 Dorham added the 26-year-old tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson to his group, which later recorded
Una Mas (the group also featured a young Tony Williams). The friendship between the two musicians led to
a number of other albums, such as Henderson's Page One, Our Thing and In 'n Out. Dorham recorded
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dorham

Page 1 of 6

Kenny Dorham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/21/15, 8:59 AM

frequently throughout the 1960s for Blue Note and Prestige Records, as leader and as sideman for
Henderson, Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Andrew Hill, Milt Jackson and others.
Dorham's quintet originally consisted of some well known jazz musicians: Tommy Flanagan (piano), Paul
Chambers (double bass), and Art Taylor (drums). Their recording debut was Quiet Kenny for the New Jazz
label, an album which featured mostly ballads. An earlier quartet featuring Dorham as co-leader with alto
saxophone player Ernie Henry had released an album together under the name "Kenny Dorham/Ernie Henry
Quartet." They produced the album 2 Horns / 2 Rhythm for Riverside Records in 1957 with double bassist
Eddie Mathias and drummer G.T. Hogan. In 1990 the album was re-released on CD under the name "Kenny
Dorham Quartet featuring Ernie Henry."[2][3]
During his final years Dorham suffered from kidney disease, from which he died on December 5, 1972, aged
48.

Discography
As leader
1953: Kenny Dorham Quintet (Debut)
1955: Afro-Cuban (Blue Note)
1956: 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia (Blue Note)
1956: And The Jazz Prophets Vol. 1 (ABC-Paramount ABC-122)
1957: Jazz Contrasts (Riverside) featuring Sonny Rollins
1957: 2 Horns / 2 Rhythm (Riverside) featuring Ernie Henry
1958: This Is the Moment! (Riverside)
1959: Blue Spring (Riverside) with Cannonball Adderley
1959: Quiet Kenny (New Jazz)
1960: The Kenny Dorham Memorial Album (Xanadu)
1960: Jazz Contemporary (Time)
1960: Showboat (Time)
1961: Whistle Stop (Blue Note)
1961: Inta Somethin' (Pacific Jazz)
1962: Matador (United Artists)
1963: Una Mas (Blue Note)
1963: Scandia Skies (SteepleChase)
1963: Short Story (SteepleChase)
1964: Trompeta Toccata (Blue Note)

As sideman
With Toshiko Akiyoshi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dorham

Page 2 of 6

Kenny Dorham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/21/15, 8:59 AM

Toshiko at Top of the Gate (1968)

With Dave Bailey
Bash! (Jazzline, 1961) - rereleased under Dorham's name as Osmosis (Black Lion) in 1990
With Andy Bey
Andy and the Bey Sisters (1959)
With Art Blakey
The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia Volume 1 (1955)
The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia Volume 2 (1955)
With Rocky Boyd
Ease It (1961; aka West 42nd Street)
With Tadd Dameron
Fontainebleau (1956)
With Lou Donaldson
Quartet/Quintet/Sextet (1954)
With Matthew Gee
Jazz by Gee (Riverside, 1956)
With Herb Geller
Fire in the West (1957)
With Benny Golson
The Modern Touch (Riverside, 1957)
With Barry Harris
Bull's Eye! (Prestige, 1968)
With Joe Henderson
Page One (1963)
Our Thing (1963)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dorham

Page 3 of 6

Kenny Dorham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/21/15, 8:59 AM

In 'n Out (1964)

With Ernie Henry
Presenting Ernie Henry (Riverside, 1956)
Last Chorus (Riverside, 195657)
With Andrew Hill
Point of Departure (1964)
With Milt Jackson
Roll 'Em Bags (Savoy, 1949)
Invitation (1962)
With Clifford Jordan
Starting Time (Jazzland, 1961)
In the World (Strata-East, 1969 [1972])
With Harold Land
Eastward Ho! Harold Land in New York (Jazzland, 1960)
With Abbey Lincoln
That's Him! (Riverside, 1957)
It's Magic (1958)
Abbey Is Blue (1959)
With Jackie McLean
Vertigo (Blue Note, 1962)
With John Mehegan
Casual Affair (1959)
With Gil Mell
Gil's Guests (1956)
With Helen Merrill
You've Got a Date with the Blues (1959)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dorham

Page 4 of 6

Kenny Dorham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/21/15, 8:59 AM

With Hank Mobley

Mobley's 2nd Message (1956)
Curtin Call (Blue Note, 1957)
With Thelonious Monk
Genius of Modern Music: Volume 2 (Blue Note, 1952)
With Oliver Nelson
Meet Oliver Nelson (New Jazz, 1959)
Zodiac (1968)
With Cecil Payne
Patterns of Jazz (Savoy, 1956)
Zodiac (Strata-East, 1968 [1973])
With Max Roach
Max Roach + 4 (EmArcy, 1956)
Jazz in Time (EmArcy, 1957)
The Max Roach 4 Plays Charlie Parker (EmArcy, 1958)
MAX (Argo, 1958)
With Sonny Rollins
Moving Out (Prestige, 1954)
Rollins Plays for Bird (Prestige, 1956)
Sonny Boy (Prestige, 1956 [1961])
With Horace Silver
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers (Blue Note, 1954)
With Cecil Taylor
Hard Driving Jazz (1958)
With Cedar Walton
Cedar! (Prestige, 1967)
With Randy Weston
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dorham

Page 5 of 6

Kenny Dorham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/21/15, 8:59 AM

Live at the Five Spot (United Artists, 1959)

With Barney Wilen
Barney (1959)
Un Temoin Dans La Ville (1959)
With Phil Woods
Pairing Off (1956)
There are three Kenny Dorham tribute CDs. Music of Kenny Dorham by Don Sickler (1994). A Tribute to
Kenny Dorham by the Charles Davis All Stars (2010). Jay Sanders Plays the Music of Kenny Dorham by
Jay Sanders (2011).

References
1. Freeman, Phil (January 15, 2013). "Spotlight: Doing the Philly Twist: Kenny Dorham's Whistle Stop"
(http://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/doing-the-philly-twist-kenny-dorhams-whistle). bluenote.com. Blue Note
Records.
2. Yanow, Scott (2000). Bebop. Miller Freeman Books. pp. 7981. ISBN 0-87930-608-4.
3. Listing (http://www.discogs.com/Kenny-Dorham-Quartet-featuring-Ernie-Henry-2-Horns2Rhythm/release/2462009) of the 2 Horns/2 Rhythm album on Discogs.com, (accessed December 17, 2014).

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kenny_Dorham&oldid=656620523"

Categories: 1924 births 1972 deaths People from Freestone County, Texas American jazz trumpeters
Bebop trumpeters Mainstream jazz trumpeters Hard bop trumpeters Jazz Messengers
American jazz singers American jazz composers Savoy Records artists Xanadu Records artists
Muse Records artists Riverside Records artists Blue Note Records artists
20th-century American singers 20th-century composers
This page was last modified on 15 April 2015, at 15:38.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Dorham

Page 6 of 6