Review by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
No rating supplied
Kenny Dorham never made it to the upper echelon of jazz luminaries.
His peers Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown
and Lee Morgan overshadowed him. He did however play with all of the
best. He had stints with Charlie Parker, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers,
and for a short period led his own band called the Jazz Prophets.
"Quiet Kenny" (1959) is a good view of the trumpeter's bop influences.
On this recording, most of it was very quite and smooth, but not entirely.
For instance, "Mack The Knife" is hardly a low-key number regardless
of any genre interpretation. That particular song stands as an example
of the versatility that Dorham commanded on the trumpet, with or without
support of the greats that he played with during the fifties. He had
his own successful quintet, and he also was able to exploit all of
the talent and adeptness that he had with his instrument. His understanding
of jazz was distinguished enough for him to become a leader, not a
follower. Perhaps his best output was when he recorded for the Blue
Note label. This release from the Prestige vaults stands as vivid
representation of a severely underrated artist that is finally getting
his curtain call with a wonderfully remastered album that was heretofore
overlooked as a jazz classic.
1. Lotus Blossom (Dorham) - 4:38
2. My Ideal (Chase/Robin/Whiting) - 5:05
3. Blue Friday (Dorham) - 8:44
4. Alone Together (Dietz/Schwartz) - 3:11
5. Blue Spring Shuffle (Dorham) - 7:36
6. I Had the Craziest Dream (Gordon/Warren) - 4:38
7. Old Folks (Hill/Robinson) - 5:12
8. Mack the Knife (Brecht/Weill) - 3:01
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