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McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 trumpeter, singer, and composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 born in Fairfield, Texas
Fairfield, Texas

Fairfield is a city in Freestone County, Texas, Texas, United States. The population was 3,094 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Freestone County, Texas....
.

am was one of the most active bebop
Bebop

Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. It was developed in the early and mid-1940s....
 trumpeters. He played in the big bands of Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine

William Clarence ?Billy? Eckstein was an American singer of ballads and bandleader of the Swing Era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular music....
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie [/g?'l?spi/] was an United States jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children....
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
 and Mercer Ellington
Mercer Ellington

Mercer Kennedy Ellington was an United States jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.Ellington was born in Washington, DC, the son of famous composer, Piano, and bandleader Duke Ellington....
 and the quintet of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Parker is widely considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians, along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington....
. He was a charter member of the original cooperative Jazz Messengers
Art Blakey

Arthur Blakey , born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an United States jazz drummer and bandleader....
. He also recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer.Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz -- he is one of only three jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time magazine -- Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epi...
 and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is an United States jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins' long, prolific career began at the age of 11, and he was playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20....
, and he replaced Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown

Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated United States jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings....
 in the Max Roach
Max Roach

Maxwell Lemuel Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history....
 Quintet after Brown's death in 1956.






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McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 trumpeter, singer, and composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 born in Fairfield, Texas
Fairfield, Texas

Fairfield is a city in Freestone County, Texas, Texas, United States. The population was 3,094 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Freestone County, Texas....
.

Biography

Dorham was one of the most active bebop
Bebop

Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. It was developed in the early and mid-1940s....
 trumpeters. He played in the big bands of Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine

William Clarence ?Billy? Eckstein was an American singer of ballads and bandleader of the Swing Era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular music....
, Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie [/g?'l?spi/] was an United States jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children....
, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
 and Mercer Ellington
Mercer Ellington

Mercer Kennedy Ellington was an United States jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.Ellington was born in Washington, DC, the son of famous composer, Piano, and bandleader Duke Ellington....
 and the quintet of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Parker is widely considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians, along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington....
. He was a charter member of the original cooperative Jazz Messengers
Art Blakey

Arthur Blakey , born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an United States jazz drummer and bandleader....
. He also recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer.Widely considered one of the most important musicians in jazz -- he is one of only three jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time magazine -- Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epi...
 and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is an United States jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins' long, prolific career began at the age of 11, and he was playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20....
, and he replaced Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown

Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated United States jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings....
 in the Max Roach
Max Roach

Maxwell Lemuel Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history....
 Quintet after Brown's death in 1956. In addition to sideman work, he led his own groups, including the Jazz Prophets (formed shortly after Art Blakey
Art Blakey

Arthur Blakey , born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, he was an United States jazz drummer and bandleader....
 took over the Jazz Messengers name). The Jazz Prophets, featuring a young Bobby Timmons
Bobby Timmons

Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an United States jazz pianist and composer. He is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his distinctive Gospel music soul-jazz style....
 on piano, bassist Sam Jones
Sam Jones

Samuel Jones or Sam Jones may refer to:...
 and tenorman J.R. Monterose with guest Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell

Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an United States jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians....
 on guitar, can be heard on the 1956 Blue Note
Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards....
 live album Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia.

In 1963 Dorham added the 26-year-old tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson was an United States jazz tenor saxophone. Born in Lima, Ohio, he studied music at Kentucky State College and Wayne State University before playing in Detroit at the beginning of his career....
 to his group, which later recorded Una Mas (the group also featured a young Tony Williams
Tony Williams

Anthony Tillmon "Tony" Williams was an United States Jazz drumming.Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz drummers to come to prominence in the 1960s, Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis, and was a pioneer of jazz fusion....
). The friendship between the two musicians led to a number of other albums, such as Henderson's Page One
Page One (album)

Page One is the debut release by United States jazz music tenor saxophone Joe Henderson.All Music describes the album as a "particularly strong and historic effort"....
, Our Thing and In'n'Out. Dorham recorded frequently throughout the sixties for Blue Note and Prestige Records
Prestige Records

Prestige Records was founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock . The record label name was initially New Jazz, but changed to Prestige Records the next year....
, as leader and as sideman for Henderson, Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean

John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City....
, Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton

Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an United States hard bop jazz pianist....
, Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill

Andrew Hill was an United States jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one the most important progenitors of Free jazz piano, though he is considered more mainstream jazz than Cecil Taylor, who is two years older than Hill....
, Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson

Milton Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist and one of the most important figures in the hard bop style, although he performed in several subgenres of jazz....
 and others.

Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did. For this reason, his name has become (in the words of writer Gary Giddins
Gary Giddins

Gary Giddins critic, author, director, best known for his longtime work with The Village Voice.Born in Brooklyn, and raised on Long Island, Giddins graduated from Grinnell College, Iowa, in 1970....
) "virtually synonymous with 'underrated.'"

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

He composed the jazz standard
Jazz standard

A jazz standard is a jazz tune that is held in continuing esteem and which is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians as part of the jazz musical repertoire....
 "Blue Bossa," which appears on Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson was an United States jazz tenor saxophone. Born in Lima, Ohio, he studied music at Kentucky State College and Wayne State University before playing in Detroit at the beginning of his career....
's album "Page One."

Discography


As leader

  • 1953: Kenny Dorham Quinte Debut
  • 1955: Afro-Cuban (Blue Note)
  • 1956: 'Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia
  • 1957: Jazz Contrast (with Sonny Rollins
    Sonny Rollins

    Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is an United States jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins' long, prolific career began at the age of 11, and he was playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20....
    )
  • 1957: 2 Horns/2 Rhythm
  • 1958: This is the Moment!
  • 1959: Quiet Kenny
  • 1959: Blue Spring (with Cannonball Adderley)
  • 1960: Jazz Contemporary
  • 1960: The Art of the Ballad
  • 1961: Osmosis
  • 1961: Whistle Stop (Blue Note)
  • 1963: One More Time (Una Más) (Blue Note)
  • 1964: Trompeta Toccata (Blue Note)


As sideman

With Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson was an United States jazz tenor saxophone. Born in Lima, Ohio, he studied music at Kentucky State College and Wayne State University before playing in Detroit at the beginning of his career....
  • In 'N Out
    In 'N Out

    In 'N Out is the third album by jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson released on the Blue Note Records label. It was recorded on April 10, 1964 and features performances by Henderson with Kenny Dorham, McCoy Tyner, Richard Davis and Elvin Jones....
     (1964)
With Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill

Andrew Hill was an United States jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one the most important progenitors of Free jazz piano, though he is considered more mainstream jazz than Cecil Taylor, who is two years older than Hill....
  • Point of Departure (1964)