Kenny Dorham in 10 Tracks

Trumpeter Kenny Dorham never received the recognition he deserved. I'm not sure why. Part of the problem, I suppose, is that he was a gentler soul among hotter players such as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown and others. He certainly was on plenty of remarkable recording sessions, and his playing was pretty and engaging.

Listening to him yesterday, I figured why not blow him out a bit today to show just how remarkable he was. Choosing 10 tracks was difficult given the breadth of his recordings, but these 10 should do the trick as an entry point. Dorham died in 1972 at age 48:

Here's Kenny Dorham on Ray's Idea with the Sonny Stitt Quintet in 1946...



Here's Dorham with Charlie Parker live at the Royal Roost playing Confirmation in 1949...



Here's Dorham leading a quintet on An Oscar for Oscar in 1953...



Here's Dorham with Sonny Rollins on Sonny's Kids Know in 1956...



Here's Dorham live at the Cafe Bohemia playing 'Round Midnight in 1956...



Here's Dorham leading a quintet on This Love of Mine in 1960...



Here's Dorham with Joe Henderson on Blue Bossa in 1963...



Here's Dorham with his quintet in Copenhagen playing It Could Happen to You in 1963...



Here's Dorham leading a quintet on Una Mas in 1963...



And here's the only known film of Dorham in Stockholm, leading a quartet in 1963 featuring Goran Lindberg (p), Goran Peterson (b) and Leif Wennerstron (d)...