1962 · Album
Inta Somethin'
Recorded 1961, The Jazz Workshop, San Francisco · Pacific Jazz · Produced by Richard Bock
Dorham Live, No Safety Net
Dorham in a club, late night, playing like he had something to prove.
If you've only heard Kenny Dorham on studio records, this one will reframe him a little. Inta Somethin' (1961) catches him live at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, which means you get the rougher edges, the longer takes, the feeling that the room is actually pushing the music somewhere. Dorham was always a bit underrated — overshadowed by Miles Davis and Clifford Brown — but on a good night in a small club, he could hold his own against anyone. This is a good night.
The playing here is hard bop with room to stretch. Dorham's tone is warm and slightly burnished, never flashy, which is either the thing you love about him or the thing that makes you reach for a Freddie Hubbard record instead. The rhythm section does solid work keeping things moving, and the interplay on the longer pieces is where this recording earns its keep. Live albums from this era sometimes feel like souvenirs, but this one has enough energy that it doesn't feel like an afterthought.
The Pacific Jazz release gave this record a wider audience than it might have found otherwise, and it holds up as one of the better documents of Dorham working outside the studio. If you're already a fan, you don't need convincing. If you're new to him, this is actually a reasonable place to start — not because it's his most polished work, but because the live setting lets you hear how he thinks in real time. He was a smart player, careful with space, and that comes through here more than on some of his studio cuts. Worth your time.
Who's playing
Leroy Vinnegarbass
Walter Bishop, Jr.piano
Jackie McLeanalto saxophone
Kenny Dorhamtrumpet
Art Taylordrums
Where next?
More by Kenny Dorham
All 31 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
