Kenny Dorham's Centenary

August 30 will mark the 100th anniversary of Kenny Dorham's birth. The trumpeter and singer was born in Texas in 1924 and always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Early on, he played in the bop bands of Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie and jump blues band of Lionel Hampton.

From 1948 to '50, Dorham was a member of the Charlie Parker Quintet that was often recorded live. In 1951 he recorded with Thelonious Monk, followed by Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers in 1953 and then worked with Sonny Rollins, Lou Donaldson and Tadd Dameron. He also formed Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets, which was modeled after Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

Like 1940s character actors such as Edward Everett and S.Z. Sakall who appeared in many great movies, Dorham recorded as a leader and sideman on the East Coast during the 1950s. He also joined the Max Roach Quintet after Clifford Brown's sudden death in a car crash in 1956.

In the 1960s, Dorham recorded several major albums with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson before working as a sideman for leaders on the Blue Note and Prestige labels. There also were solo albums. Kenny Dorham died in 1972 from kidney disease at age 48.

Dorham may not have had a standout personality or a pronounced trumpet style, but what he lacked in charisma and individualistic sound he more than made up for in soulful playing on bebop, hard bop, Latin jazz and free jazz recordings. He was an extraordinary and essential ingredient on all of those recording sessions.

Dorham's contribution to jazz can be summarized in these 18 tracks:

Here's Bebop in Pastel (Bouncing With Bud), with the Sonny Stitt All Stars in 1946, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Sonny Stitt (as), Bud Powell (p) Al Hall (b) and Wallace Bishop (d)...



Here's Visa by Charlie Parker and His Orchestra in 1949, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Tommy Turk (tb), Charlie Parker (as), Al Haig (p), Tommy Potter (b), Max Roach (d) and Carlos Vidal (cga)...



Here's Let's Cool One, by the Thelonious Monk Sextet in 1952, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Lou Donaldson (as), Lucky Thompson (ts), Thelonious Monk (p), Nelson Boyd (b) and Max Roach (d)...



Here's an Oscar for Oscar by the Kenny Dorham Quintet in 1953, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Jimmy Heath (ts), Walter Bishop, Jr. (p), Percy Heath (b) and Kenny Clarke (d)...



Here's Deciphering the Message by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in 1955, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), Horace Silver (p), Doug Watkins (b) and Art Blakey (d)...



Here's Autumn in New York from Dorham's 1956 album 'Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia with Kenny Dorham (tp), Bobby Timmons (p), Sam Jones (b) and Arthur Edgehill (d)...



Here's Sixpence from Gil Melle's album Gil's Guests in 1956 featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Don Butterfield (tuba), Hal McKusick (as), Gil Melle (bar), Joe Cinderella (g), Vinnie Burke (b) and Ed Thigpen (d)...



Here's Kids Know, from Sonny Rollins's album Rollins Plays for Bird in 1956, feturing Kenny Dorham (tp), Sonny Rollins (ts), Wade Legge (p), George Morrow (b) and Max Roach (d)...



Here's Pretty for the People from A.K. Salim's album of the same name in 1957, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Buster Cooper (tb), Johnny Griffin (ts), Pepper Adams (bar), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Max Roach (d) and A.K. Salim (cond,arr,comp)...



Here's Confirmation from Max Plays Charlie Parker in 1957, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), George Morrow (b) and Max Roach (d)...

 



Here's Jams and Jellies from Meet Oliver Nelson in 1959, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Oliver Nelson (ts), Ray Bryant (p), Wendell Marshall (b) and Art Taylor (d)...



Here's My Ideal from Dorham's Quiet Kenny in 1960, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Tommy Flanagan (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Art Taylor (d)...



Here's Windmill from Kenny Dorham's album Whistle Stop in 1961, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), Kenny Drew (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d)...



Here's the title track from Kenny Dorham's album Una Mas in 1963, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Joe Henderson (ts), Herbie Hancock (p), Butch Warren (b) and Tony Williams (d)...



Here's Dorham's composition, Blue Bossa, on Joe Henderson's Page One album in 1963, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Joe Henderson (ts), McCoy Tyner (p), Butch Warren (b) and Pete La Roca (d)...



Here's Refuge from Andrew Hill's Point of Departure in 1964, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Eric Dolphy (as), Joe Henderson (ts), Andrew Hill (p), Richard Davis (b) and Tony Williams (d)...



Here's The Fox from Dorham's album Trompeta Toccata in 1964, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp), Joe Henderson (ts), Tommy Flanagan (p), Richard Davis (b) and Albert “Tootie" Heath (d)...



And here's the title track from Barry Harris's album Bull's Eye in 1968, featuring Kenny Dorham (tp) Charles McPherson (as,ts) Pepper Adams (bar) Barry Harris (p) Paul Chambers (b) Billy Higgins (d)...