1965 · Album
Trompeta Toccata
Recorded 1964 · Blue Note Records · Produced by Alfred Lion
The Quiet Farewell of a Trumpet Master
Dorham goes out swinging, and the fact that nobody noticed at the time is jazz's loss.
By 1964, Kenny Dorham was one of the best trumpet players working in jazz and one of the least celebrated. He'd been passed over for Miles Davis's gig in the Charlie Parker quintet, watched Clifford Brown get the headlines, and spent much of his career being described as underrated — which is its own kind of trap. Trompeta Toccata, recorded in 1964 and released on Blue Note the following year as BST 84181, turned out to be his final album as a leader, though nobody knew that at the time. It's a strong record, not a desperate one. Dorham sounds confident, unhurried, completely himself.
The album follows the same four-tune format as Una Mas (1963), and Dorham wrote three of the four pieces himself. That's worth noting because his compositions tend to have a logic to them — they aren't just blowing vehicles. The title track in particular has real structure to it, with a knotted, almost baroque melodic line that the band works through carefully. Joe Henderson is on tenor saxophone and he's excellent here, as he almost always was alongside Dorham. The interplay between the two of them is the main reason to spend time with this record.
Rudy Van Gelder remastered the album in 2006, and as with most Van Gelder remasters, the sound opens up noticeably — the brass has more presence, the rhythm section more definition. Bob Blumenthal wrote the 2006 liner notes and pointed out that after this album, Dorham's recorded output as a leader was essentially finished. That context adds something when you listen. But honestly, even without the backstory, this is a satisfying, well-constructed hard bop record from a musician who deserved more attention than he got.
Who's playing
Richard Davisdouble bass
Tommy Flanaganpiano
Joe Hendersontenor saxophone
Kenny Dorhamtrumpet
Albert “Tootie” Heathdrums
Where next?
More by Kenny Dorham
All 31 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
