Kenny Dorham

Kenny Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter who made many recordings in the 1950s and 1960s that continue to be regarded highly by fans and critics. He was praised for his melodic and lyrical be-bop style but he never made the breakthrough to mainstream fame. The Texas-born musician (Fairfield, August 30, 1924) grew up in a musical family, learned to play the piano as a child and picked up the trumpet while at high school. After military service he signed on with Dizzy Gillespie's big band and had stints with drummer Art Blakey, pianist Bud Powell, drummer Kenny Clarke, saxophonist Sonny Stitt, and band leaders Lionel Hampton and Mercer Ellington. In 1948, he succeeded Miles Davis in Charlie Parker's band, went on to record with Thelonious Monk and in 1953 released his first album as leader, Kenny Dorham Quintet. Albums followed with saxophonists Sonny Rollins, Ernie Henry, Cannonball Adderley, Steve Kuhn and Jackie McLean. Among his major recordings are Afro-Cuban (1955), 2 Horns / 2 Rhythm (1958), Quiet Kenny (1960), Whistle Stop (1961), Matador (1963), Una mas (One More Time) (1964), and Trompeta Toccata (1965). He died from kidney disease in New York, on December 5, 1972, at the age of 48. In 1975 his 1960 release The Arrival of Kernny Dorham was re-released as The Kenny Dorham Memorial Album. In 2026, the label Blue Note released The Complete 'Round About Midnight at the Café Bohemia, a landmark live recording from 1956.