1957 · Album
Pretty for the People
Recorded 1957 · Savoy · Produced by Unverified — omitted
Salim's Session, Dorham's Moment
A solid, unpretentious hard bop date that gives Dorham plenty of room to stretch out.
This album gets filed under Kenny Dorham's name in a lot of collections, but the record really belongs to A. K. Salim, the arranger and composer who put the whole thing together for Savoy in 1957. Salim wrote the charts, set the mood, and assembled the band — which is worth keeping in mind when you're listening, because the orchestral framing here is doing a lot of the work. Kenny Dorham fits into Salim's arrangements comfortably, bringing his characteristically warm, slightly understated trumpet tone to the proceedings. He was never the flashiest player in the room, and that actually suits this date well. There's no grandstanding, just a guy playing trumpet the way he knew how.
The other significant presence is Johnny Griffin, the tenor saxophonist who could play faster than almost anyone alive at the time. On this record, Griffin is a little more contained than usual — Salim's writing keeps things measured — but you can still feel the energy he's holding back. When he gets space, he uses it. The contrast between Dorham's cool delivery and Griffin's more aggressive instincts gives the album some of its best moments.
Honestly, this isn't the first album you'd hand someone who wants to get into Dorham. For that, you'd probably point them toward his Blue Note work. But if you already like him, this is a good listen — a well-organized session with some interesting charts and two horn players who clearly knew what they were doing. Salim doesn't get talked about much these days, and albums like this are a decent reminder that arrangers shaped a lot of the records we think of as belonging entirely to the soloists.
Who's playing
Paul Chambersbass
Wynton Kellypiano
Pepper Adamssaxophone
Johnny Griffintenor saxophone
Kenny Dorhamtrumpet
Buster Coopertrombone
Max Roachdrums
Chano Pozocongas
Where next?
More by Kenny Dorham
All 31 albums →
The musicians on this record
Kelly Blue 1959
Wynton Kelly
plays piano here
plays piano here
Deeds, Not Words 1958
Max Roach
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Introducing Johnny Griffin 1956
Johnny Griffin
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
