Kenny Dorham

McKinley Howard Dorham was born in Fairfield, Texas in 1924 into a sharecropper family. He studied trumpet in his teens and jammed in high school with talented peers. Dorham studied music at Wiley College where he played in a band with pianist “Wild” Bill Davis. He served in the Army during World War II. After arriving in New York, Dorham developed his bebop and swing playing with Mercer Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie’s band (where he also sang blues), Billy Eckstine, and Lionel Hampton. He replaced Fats Navarro in Eckstine’s band in 1946. Dorham replaced Miles Davis in Charlie Parker’s quintet in December 1948 and stayed through 1950. He appeared with Parker at the Paris Jazz Festival in 1949. His nickname “Quiet Kenny” emerged from his quiet, subdued sound despite his first-call replacement status in all-star groups. Dorham was a charter member of the original cooperative Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey and Horace Silver in 1954. He had recorded with Thelonious Monk in 1952. His recording debut as leader came on Charles Mingus and Max Roach’s Debut label in 1953. “Afro-Cuban” (Blue Note, 1955) with Cecil Payne, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, and Art Blakey integrated Latin rhythms far ahead of the curve. Dorham replaced Clifford Brown in Max Roach Quintet after Brown’s death in 1956. He formed the Jazz Prophets group featuring Bobby Timmons, Sam Jones, J.R. Monterose, and Kenny Burrell. “‘Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia” (Blue Note, 1956) captured the group live. “Quiet Kenny” (New Jazz, 1959) with Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor featured mostly ballads including “Lotus Blossom” and “My Ideal.” His five Blue Note albums as leader included “Whistle Stop” (1961), “Una Mas” (1963) featuring Joe Henderson’s debut, “Matador” (1963), and “Trompeta Toccata” (1965). Dorham’s partnership with Joe Henderson beginning in 1963 produced numerous collaborations. His composition “Blue Bossa” appeared on Henderson’s debut “Page One” and quickly became a jazz standard. Other compositions like “La Mesha” appeared on Henderson’s “Our Thing” and “In ’n Out.” Dorham taught at Lenox School of Jazz from 1958 to 1959. He wrote film scores for “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” and “Un Témoin dans la Ville” in 1959. Dorham wrote reviews for Downbeat Magazine and served as consultant for the Harlem Youth Act anti-poverty program. He held a position on the board of the New York Neophonic Orchestra while attending NYU School of Music. His final album as leader came in 1964 as mainstream jazz lost its audience. “Kenny Dorham Sextet” for Cadet in 1970 featured Muhal Richard Abrams. By 1970 kidney disease required fifteen hours of weekly dialysis at a local hospital. A longstanding heroin habit likely contributed to kidney failure. Dorham died on December 5, 1972 at age 48. His compositions “Blue Bossa,” “Prince Albert,” “Lotus Blossom,” “Una Mas,” and “Whistle Stop” became jazz standards. He was remembered as the “uncrowned king” of jazz trumpet for his soft, energetic bebop style and confident, smooth lyrical playing, though he was overshadowed by Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, and Miles Davis.