Kenny Dorham: From 'Round Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia To Matador Revisited

In his mostly sane and admirable book Black Nationalism and the Revolution In Music (Pathfinder Press, 1970), Frank Kofsky describes Kenny Dorham as "house trained." The calculated insult attempts to conflate Dorham's respect for form and structure with an Uncle Tom outlook on the world. Some might say Dorham would have been justified in following (or, rather, anticipating) the example of the writer Stanley Crouch, who on spotting in a Manhattan restaurant a critic who had recently dissed one of his books, walked over to his table and punched him in the face. This is not necessarily to hold a torch for Crouch, nor to condone physical violence, it is just saying.

An alternative kind of response to a critic was given by Igor Stravinsky. He was asked, "What would you say to people who say your work in Hollywood is sensationalist and cheap, a betrayal of your country's socialist values and something for which you should be ashamed?" Replied Stravinsky, "I would say, 'No, it is not.'" But we digress.

'Round About Midnight At The Café Bohemia To Matador Revisited brings together, in sumptuously enhanced audio, two of Dorham's best-loved albums: 'Round About Midnight At The Café Bohemia (Blue Note, 1956) and Matador (United Artists, 1963).

The earlier album has Dorham fronting an imaginatively assembled sextet comprising tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Arthur Edgehill. The musicians perfectly communicate the late night vibe Dorham and engineer Rudy Van Gelder strived to create. There are three standards, Thelonious Monk's title track, Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night In Tunisia" and Vernon Duke's "Autumn In New York," plus three Dorham originals, "Monaco," "Mexico City" and "Hill's Edge." There are many transcendent recordings of "Autumn In New York" and Dorham's from the Bohemia is definitely one of them (check the YouTube below). Despite the frantic bop closer, "Hill's Edge," file the Bohemia material next to Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963).

Bobby Timmons crops up again on Matador, which was recorded just months before Dorham began the super-fruitful partnership with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson that kicked off with Henderson's Page One (Blue Note, 1963) and Dorham's Una Mas (Blue Note, 1964). This time Dorham shares the frontline with the alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. Dorham wrote the title track, McLean wrote "Melanie Part 1 to 3," and there are four standards. McLean is ideally suited to Dorham's soulful sound and the music has endured very well.

As with all Ezz-thetics projects, 'Round About Midnight At The Café Bohemia To Matador Revisited takes some historically important material and elevates it even further through the work of the label's sonic Jedi, Michael Brändli.

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