Kenny Dorham - Quiet Kenny

Anything But Silent

I was reluctant at first to purchase this album, not because of any reservations about the talent of the musicians represented here, but simply because I'm enamored of the sound of the saxophone and wasn't sure I would find an album showcasing the trumpet alone to be as interesting. Well, I was completely and totally wrong about that. It doesn't hurt that the trumpet player in question is the ever emotive Kenny Dorham. KD is joined on this 1959 session by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers (naturally!) on bass, and Art Taylor on drums.

KD contributes three of his own compositions: "Lotus Blossom" (aka "Asiatic Raes", a favorite of mine from Freddie Hubbard's Goin' Up), "Blue Friday", and "Blue Spring Shuffle". The quartet setting really allows Kenny's lyrical, beautifully voiced trumpet to shine. He allows Tommy Flanagan plenty of room to dazzle here as well and dazzle he does, playing some very pretty piano lines on this date. Paul Chambers is solid as ever and Art Taylor turns in a great understated performance as well.

I really fell in love with this bluesy quartet session, especially the Dorham originals, the haunting "Alone Together", and his version of "Mack the Knife", but there's not a bad piece to be found here. Thanks to JoeyD and Samuel Chell, whose splendid reviews convinced me to quit waffling around and finally purchase this album. June 19, 2008

One Of Dorham's Best!

"Quiet Kenny" was released in 1959 on Prestige Records and remains to this day one of Dorham's finest albums in my opinion. What helps is Dorham is joined by some excellent musicians: Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. A truly timeless session, every tune is great.

One of the things that makes "Quiet Kenny" different is it's really a pure trumpet record. In other words, his sound isn't augmented by another horn. He's the only horn and this gives the album a very different feel. If any of you heard "Musings Of Miles," then you can understand my point. Don't let the lack of a saxophone or any other lead instrument scare you away. You will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

I highly recommend this recording for fans of trumpet playing and all around good jazz. February 24, 2008

Kenny D. is Deeelightful!

This is a very beautiful recording by one of the most underated trumpet players in the history of jazz. On this wonderful album, Kenny leads a sax-free quartet (the only time he would be sans a partner on sax) and proves that he is more than capable of shouldering the load. This is arguably one of his finest recordings. I absolutely loved it!

Kenny D. is definitely worth mentioning in the same sentence with Brownie, Miles, Diz, Freddie H, etc... I don't think he ever received the amount of credit he so justly deserves. The same could be said for Donald Byrd as well.

By the way, Paul Chambers gives yet another stunning performance on bass!

March 7, 2007

Quintessentially Quiet Kenny

"Quiet" is almost redundant, less descriptive of the session than of Kenny himself, who plays no differently here than he does in the explosive groups of Blakey or Silver. Thoughtful, playful, lyrical but never effusive, K.D. is, as always, the thinking person's trumpet player (or, as Dan Morgenstern calls him in the notes for this latest RVG edition, the most "poetic" of trumpet players).

The playing on the present disk is on a level with Kenny's best work elsewhere ("Whistle Stop," "Una Mass"), but there are two undeniable bonuses: Kenny's is the only horn, giving him more valuable time to tell his compelling stories; and the pianist is Tommy Flanagan, whose dynamically nuanced, carefully sculpted lines are the perfect match for the trumpet's exquisitely crafted statements.

Given more familiar trumpet styles, it can take a while for a new listener to "get" Kenny Dorham. Once you do, you simply can't get enough of him. September 3, 2006

Quite Sublime Kenny

From the Bebop Boys to the Jazz Prophets to Joey Henderson, Kenny came through on the cutting edge. This is Kenny's only single-horn quartet session. He probably could have made a dozen of them, but he was a giver and favored the two horn conversations of a quintet most frequently. This record, much like all of Kenny's stuff, is all about a balanced approach to material, and assurance. He hits the right notes quite often, and his compositions don't suffer one bit side by side to the other classics here. Did I mention soul? When you see a record like this you're immediately reminded of many many others with these players (Tommy Flanagan, A.T. & P.C.) in this vein, and are tempted to pass because you think it might be too similiar to them to justify yet another purchase. Don't do that. There really is only a finite number of things like this in existence, people, and they aren't making any more. July 7, 2006

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