Kenny Dorham

McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972)^[1] was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public recognition from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did. For this reason, writer Gary Giddins said that Dorham's name has become "virtually synonymous with 'underrated'."^[2]

Dorham also composed the bossa nova jazz standard "Blue Bossa", which was first recorded by his associate Joe Henderson.

Dorham was born in Fairfield, Texas. He began learning piano as a child. Attending L.C. Anderson High School in Austin, Texas, he learned saxophone and trumpet. He studied chemistry and physics at Wiley College before joining the United States Army. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue music after his discharge.^[3][4]

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

Dorham was one of the most active bebop trumpeters. Early in his career, he played in the big bands of Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mercer Ellington, and in Charlie Parker's quintet.^[1] He joined Parker's band in December 1948.^[6] He was a charter member of the original cooperative the Jazz Messengers.^[1] He also recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, and he replaced Clifford Brown in the Max Roach Quintet after Brown's death in 1956.^[1] In addition to sideman work, Dorham led his own groups, including the Jazz Prophets^[1] (formed shortly after Art Blakey took over the Jazz Messengers name). The Jazz Prophets, featuring a young Bobby Timmons on piano, bassist Sam Jones, and tenorman J. R. Monterose, with guest Kenny Burrell on guitar, recorded a live album, 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia, in 1956 for Blue Note.

Dorham shared a stage with Miles Davis in 1956. According to Davis's biography, after the performance, Jackie McLean "looked me straight in the eye and said, 'Miles, tonight Kenny is playing so beautiful, you sound like an imitation of yourself.'"^[4]

In 1963, Dorham added the 26-year-old tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson to his group,^[1] which later recorded the album Una Mas. The friendship between the two musicians led to a number of other albums, such as Henderson's Page One, Our Thing, and In 'n Out. Dorham recorded frequently throughout the 1960s for Blue Note and Prestige Records, as leader and as sideman for Henderson, Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Andrew Hill, Milt Jackson, and others.^[1]

Dorham's later quartet consisted of some well-known jazz musicians: Tommy Flanagan (piano), Paul Chambers (double bass), and Art Taylor (drums). Their recording debut was Quiet Kenny for Prestige's New Jazz label, an album which featured mostly ballads. An earlier quartet featuring Dorham as co-leader with alto saxophone player Ernie Henry had released an album together under the name "Kenny Dorham/Ernie Henry Quartet." They produced the album 2 Horns / 2 Rhythm for Riverside Records in 1957, with double bassist Eddie Mathias and drummer G.T. Hogan. In 1990, the album was re-released on CD under the name "Kenny Dorham Quartet featuring Ernie Henry".^[7][8]

From 1958-59, Dorham taught at the Lenox School of Jazz. He composed music for the scores for Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Un Témoin dans la Ville.^[9] Dorham wrote music criticism for Downbeat in the mid-1960s and early 1970s.^[10][11]

Ron Wynn wrote of Dorham, "A legendary jazz trumpeter, [he] had a deeply moving, pure tone on trumpet; his sound was clear, sharp, and piercing, especially during ballads. He could spin out phrases and lines, but when he slowly and sweetly played the melody, it was an evocative event."^[9]

In 2019, Dorham was honored in Austin, Texas, where he attended L.C. Anderson High School, with a public mural created by artist Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone as part of the City of Austin's TEMPO 2D public art program. Located in East Austin, the mural depicts Dorham with a large sunflower and was described by the project as celebrating the history of Austin and the neighborhood's role as "a beacon for culture".^[12]

All five daughters of Dorham attended a tribute concert at the University of Georgia in 2023.^[13] A Kenny Dorham Centennial Celebration took place at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2024. Performers included Bruce Harris, Joe Magnarelli, Jeremy Pelt, Jimmy Owens, Tim Hagans, David Wong, Noriko Ueda, Kenny Washington, Ulysses Owens, Jr., and Joe Farnsworth.^[14]

Middle daughter Evette Dorham has taught classes about her father's work for the Swing University program of Jazz at Lincoln Center.^[15]