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Kenny Dorham

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Kenny Dorham, in full McKinley Howard Dorham, was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and occasional singer. He was born in 1924 in Fairfield, Texas, and died in 1972 of a kidney disease, aged 48. As a child he learned piano, and at high school saxophone and trumpet. He studied chemistry and physics at Wiley College, joined the army and then moved to Los Angeles to become a musician.

Music and breakthrough

Dorham was one of the most active bebop trumpeters. He played in the big bands of Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie and Mercer Ellington and, from December 1948, in Charlie Parker's quintet. He was one of the first members of the Jazz Messengers. As a sideman he recorded with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, and after the death of Clifford Brown in 1956 he took his place in Max Roach's quintet. In 1963 he brought the 26-year-old tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson into his group. Out of that came the album Una Mas, among other things. In the 1960s he recorded a great deal for Blue Note and Prestige, also as a sideman for Jackie McLean, Andrew Hill and Milt Jackson, among others.

Influence

Dorham also wrote the bossa nova jazz standard Blue Bossa, which was first recorded by Joe Henderson. Critics and colleagues often praised his talent, but the jazz world never gave him the attention many of his contemporaries received. The writer Gary Giddins said that his name has become almost synonymous with underrated. That makes him one of the great forgotten names of bebop and hard bop.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Blue Bossa in a version by Joe Henderson or Kenny Dorham. Notice the Latin American rhythm and the wistful minor-key melody, over which the soloists build their own lines.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists