Album
Blue Lament
Recorded Unable to verify with certainty · Unable to verify with certainty · Produced by Unable to verify with certainty
Dorham's Mournful Trumpet and the Weight of Restraint
Dorham plays with the kind of restraint that makes every note feel like it costs something.
I need to be honest with you: I'm not certain about the specific details of Kenny Dorham's Blue Lament — the exact recording dates, which label released it, or who produced the session. Rather than guess at those facts and steer you wrong, I'm leaving them out. What I can tell you is this: Dorham was a trumpet player who worked hard and never quite got the recognition he deserved, which makes his catalog worth exploring even when the specifics get fuzzy.
Dorham's playing style — when you find recordings of his work — tends toward the lyrical side. He wasn't a shouter or a flash player. His tone could be warm and singing, and he had a way of phrasing that made ballads feel intimate without becoming sentimental. If you know his work at all, you know he could hang with the heavyweights: he played with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk, among others. He was a solid presence in the hard bop world of the 1950s, though he never quite became a bandleader people talked about the way they talked about Miles Davis or Art Blakey.
As for where Blue Lament sits in his catalog, that's tricky without being sure of the details. Dorham made a lot of records as a sideman and a few as a leader. Some are easier to find than others. If you're new to Dorham, you might want to start with something more readily available, but if you stumble across this one, it's worth a listen. He was a musician who understood that not every moment needs to announce itself — sometimes the best thing a trumpet player can do is play a melody straight and let the weight of the tune do the work.
Who's playing
Wilbur Waredouble bass
Kenny Drewpiano
Grant Greenelectric guitar
Charles Davisbaritone saxophone
Kenny Dorhamtrumpet
Where next?
More by Kenny Dorham
All 31 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
