# Kenny Dorham

McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. 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 'underrated'."
Dorham also composed the bossa nova jazz standard "Blue Bossa", which was first recorded by his associate Joe Henderson.

## Biography

Dorham was one of the most active bebop trumpeters. Early in his career, he played in the big bands of Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mercer Ellington, and in Charlie Parker's quintet. He joined Parker's band in December 1948. He was a charter member of the original cooperative the Jazz Messengers. He also recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, and 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 the album Una Mas. 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 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 later quartet 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 Prestige's 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".

### Death

During his final years, Dorham suffered from kidney disease, from which he died on December 5, 1972, aged 48.

## Discography
### As leader

| Year recorded | Title | Label | Year released | Personnel/Notes |
| 1946 | Blues in Bebop | Savoy Jazz | 1998 | Quintets, with Dorham (trumpet), Sonny Stitt (alto sax), Bud Powell (piano), Al Hall (bass), Wallace Bishop or Kenny Clarke (drums); also includes early material recorded with Billy Eckstine, Milt Jackson, Charlie Parker and Cecil Payne |
| 1953 | Kenny Dorham Quintet | Debut | 1954 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Jimmy Heath (tenor and baritone sax), Walter Bishop Jr. (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums); 10" LP |
| 1955 | Afro-Cuban | Blue Note | 1955 | Nonet, with Dorham (trumpet), J. J. Johnson (trombone), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Cecil Payne (baritone sax), Horace Silver (piano), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Art Blakey (drums), Carlos "Patato" Valdes (congas), Richie Goldberg (cowbell, three tracks); sextet, with Mobley (tenor sax), Payne (baritone sax), Silver (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Blakey (drums); nonet tracks originally released as a 10" LP in 1955, then reissued as a 12" LP with the sextet tracks in 1957 |
| 1956 | Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets Vol. 1 | ABC-Paramount | 1956 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), J. R. Monterose (tenor sax), Dick Katz (piano), Sam Jones (bass), Arthur Edghill (drums) |
| 1956 | 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia | Blue Note | 1957 | With Dorham (trumpet), J. R. Monterose (tenor sax), Bobby Timmons (piano), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Sam Jones (bass), Arthur Edghill (drums); two additional volumes with another 11 tracks released on the Japanese Blue Note label in 1984, and then fully reissued on CD as The Complete 'Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia (Blue Note, 1995) |
| 1957 | Jazz Contrasts – with Sonny Rollins | Riverside | 1957 | With Dorham (trumpet), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Hank Jones (piano), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Max Roach (drums), Betty Glamann (harp) |
| 1957 | 2 Horns/2 Rhythm – with Ernie Henry | Riverside | 1957 | With Dorham (trumpet, piano on one track), Ernie Henry (alto sax), Eddie Mathias or Wilbur Ware (bass), G. T. Hogan (drums) |
| 1958 | This Is the Moment! Kenny Dorham Sings and Plays | Riverside | 1958 | With Dorham (trumpet, vocal), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Cedar Walton (piano), Charlie Persip or G. T. Hogan (drums) |
| 1959 | Blue Spring – with Cannonball Adderley | Riverside | 1959 | With Dorham (trumpet), Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), David Amram (French horn), Cecil Payne (baritone sax), Cedar Walton (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb or Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
| 1959 | Quiet Kenny | Prestige/New Jazz | 1960 | Quartet, with Dorham (trumpet), Tommy Flanagan (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Taylor (drums); reissued as Kenny Dorham/1959 (Prestige, 1972) |
| 1960 | The Arrival of Kenny Dorham | Jaro International | 1960 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Charles Davis (baritone sax), Tommy Flanagan (piano), Butch Warren (bass), Buddy Enlow (drums); reissued as The Kenny Dorham Memorial Album (Xanadu, 1976) |
| 1960 | Jazz Contemporary | Time | 1960 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Charles Davis (baritone sax), Steve Kuhn (piano), Butch Warren (bass), Buddy Enlow (drums) |
| 1960 | Showboat | Time | 1961 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Jimmy Heath (tenor sax), Kenny Drew (piano), Butch Warren (bass), Buddy Enlow (drums) |
| 1961 | Hot Stuff from Brazil | West Wind | 1988 | With Dorham (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Zoot Sims (tenor sax), Ronnie Ball (piano), Ben Tucker (bass), Dave Bailey (drums), Ray Mantilla (percussion), Herbie Mann (flute, one track) |
| 1961 | Inta Somethin' – with Jackie McLean | Pacific Jazz | 1962 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Walter Bishop Jr. (piano), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Art Taylor (drums) |
| 1961 | Whistle Stop | Blue Note | 1961 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Kenny Drew (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) |
| 1962 | Matador | United Artists | 1963 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Bobby Timmons (piano), Teddy Smith (bass), J. C. Moses (drums) |
| 1962 | Una Mas | Blue Note | 1964 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Butch Warren (bass), Tony Williams (drums) |
| 1963 | The Flamboyan, Queens, NY, 1963 – with Joe Henderson | Uptown | 2009 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Ronnie Mathews (piano), Steve Davis (bass), J. C. Moses (drums) |
| 1963 | Scandia Skies | SteepleChase | 1980 | Quintet, with Dorham and Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Tete Montoliu (piano), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alex Riel (drums); reissued, together with Short Story, as Scandia Story (SteepleChase, 1998) |
| 1963 | Short Story | SteepleChase | 1979 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Allan Botschinsky (flugelhorn), Tete Montoliu (piano), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bass), Alex Riel (drums); reissued, together with Scandia Skies, as Scandia Story (SteepleChase, 1998) |
| 1964 | Jazz at P. S. 175 | Harlem Youth Unlimited | 1964 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet; misspelled as "Durham"), Barry Harris (piano), Julian Euell (bass), Albert Heath (drums) |
| 1964 | Trompeta Toccata | Blue Note | 1965 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Tommy Flanagan (piano), Richard Davis (bass), Albert Heath (drums) |
| 1966 | Last But Not Least 1966, Vol. 2 | Raretone | 1988 | Quintet, with Dorham (trumpet), Sonny Red (alto sax), Cedar Walton (piano), John Ore (bass), Hugh Walker (drums); unofficial release |
| 1968 | A Trumpet Tribute: A Tribute to Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown and Booker Little | Trip Jazz | 1975 | Three sextet tracks, with Dorham, Bill Hardman and Richard Williams (trumpet), Lonnie Liston Smith (piano), Peck Morrison (bass), Richard Davis (bass), Walter Perkins (drums); reissued as Trumpet Summit: Live at Club Ruby, 1968 (Fresh Sound, 2005) |