Video – Kenny Dorham

Happy Birthday to Kenny Dorham

McKinley Howard Dorham, aka Kenny Dorham
August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972.
 

Trumpet Dude salutes one of the best today, Happy Birthday Kenny! Yes, Kenny Dorham was one of the best voices to ever travel the trajectories of a trumpet. While his playing voice was incredible, he never received the accolades he should have from the jazz establishment, always overshadowed by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro. Perhaps this is simply because he didn’t have a flamboyant personality like the others. I can only speculate, but in fact, he was referred to as ‘quiet Kenny.’ Regardless, his playing has stood the test of time and is now considered some of the best and a must listen for any aspiring jazz trumpeter today. I myself had not heard of Kenny until trumpeter Dave Scott turned me on to him some years ago, asserting that Kenny was his favorite. To this day, I am utterly amazed and challenged by the music that Kenny composed in his improvisations.
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Recordings from Art Farmer and Kenny Dorham

Art Farmer, ‘Brass Shout/Aztec Suite’

Check out these re-mastered albums originally created with Big Brass sections and full orchestras in 1959. On Brass Shout an outstanding version of APRIL IN PARIS is just one of the surprises presented. On Aztec Suite, along with some multi-faceted exoticism, you can dig the Latin rhythms in HEAT WAVE and DRUME NEGRITA. A great release for Art Farmer fans!

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