In jazz circles, hard bop trumpets have one of two sounds; either the brash and blistering chops of someone like Freddie Hubbard, or the sweet lyricism of Kenny Dorham.Dorham was one of the pioneers of bebop trumpet, having honed his skills with Billy Eckstine’s and Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Bands and of course the classic quintet with Charlie Parker. On his own, he teamed up with Joe Henderson for some essential early 60s sessions such as Page One.
Here, he’s caught in a pair of very well recorded stereo broadcasts. From 1966 at The Half Note, Korham leads an advanced hard bop team of Sonny Red/as, Cedar Walton/p, John Ore/b and Hugh Walker/dr through some exciting originals and standards. Walton delivers a “So What” groove to the exotic minor blues “ Jun Fu” that sparkles with excitement, while Red bops like Bird on “Spring is Here” and Dorham glows like a night light on the lovely “The Shadow of Your Smile” before the team races to the finish line on the supercharged “Straight Ahead.” All 8 cylinders are working on this set!
Three tunes from The Flamboyan Queens in 1962 have Dorham with a very young Joe Farrell/ts along with bopping vets Walter Bishop/p, Larry Gales/b and Stu Martin/dr. Farrell sears into “Woody’n You” like a flaming poker and the two horns speak bebop on the driving (although incomplete ) read of “Au Privave” with Farrell’s pedal to the metal. Dorham gives a workshop of lyricism on his choruses during “If I Should Lose You” demonstrating why he’s the standard bearer for the beautiful side of the brass. This disc needs to be played for all music students before they are polluted with the putrefaction of free and avant garde jazz. This is what brings in the fans.
Uptown Records