Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia: Complete (CD)
Kenny Dorham
Amoeba Review
John Schacht 07/07/2010
Lost in a flurry of live re-releases from Blue Note in the early 2000s, this marvelous two-disc set might as well stand in as metaphor for the underrated trumpeter and composer Kenny Dorham, who played his whole career in the shadows of greater horn players and writers. In the late 40s and early 50s it was Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro; in the mid-50s it was Clifford Brown and Miles Davis; in the 60s Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard stood in the spotlight. But Dorham soldiered on, and briefly led one of those great “if only” bands of the hard bop era. His Jazz Prophets recorded only three times in two months, including this live set. The other dates were studio recordings for ABC-Paramount, including the hard bop essential Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets, Vol. 1; a Vol. 2 was recorded but never released, and the tapes were subsequently lost. As Bob Blumenthal writes in his updated liner notes, part of Dorham’s problem was “the unfamiliarity of his sidemen” at the time. Though the trumpeter and drummer Arthur Edgehill were familiar names, tenor man J.R. Monterose was criminally under-recorded as a leader, and the rest of the Prophets were unknown to all but diehard jazz fans at the time – but not for long. Bobby Timmons (replaced by Dick Katz on Jazz Prophets, Vol. 1), was new to the East coast scene, having played with Chet Baker in L.A. before coming to New York. Sam Jones was soon to become an in-demand bassist and a key member of Cannonball Adderly’s famous quintet, but his star had yet to rise in ’56. Even guest artist Kenny Burrell was just getting started when Dorham asked him to play on this four-set date (the guitarist only appears during the final two sets). But the group exhibits its vast potential right from the opening track, an alternate take of Dorham’s “K.D.’s Blues (the songs have been chronologically re-sequenced). It might not be as strong as the album Dorham and the Jazz Messengers recorded a year earlier at the Café Bohemia, but it’s got plenty of highlights. Eight of the 14 non-alternate takes are Dorham compositions, among them “Monaco” (the best example of the trumpeter’s playing and composing skills this night), “New York Theme,” and “Mexico City,” Burrell’s showcase tune. The sextet also plays exciting versions of Gillespie’s classic “A Night In Tunisia,” Thelonious Monk’s title cut, the Gershwin brothers’ “Who Cares,” and Rodgers’ and Hart’s “My Heart Stood Still.” It’s sadly fitting that the final song is Dorham’s hard bop masterpiece, “The Prophet,” a longer version of which led off his ill-fated group’s studio date. But the listener can tell from even the sparse audience at this show that Dorham’s group deserved a bigger audience, and it imbues this date with a palpably bittersweet feeling.
Track Listing
Disc 1 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
K.D.'s Blues [Alternate Take]
|
Kenny Dorham | 10:41 |
2.
Autumn in New York
|
Kenny Dorham | 04:38 |
3.
Monaco [Alternate Take]
|
Kenny Dorham | 05:33 |
4.
N.Y. Theme
|
Kenny Dorham | 05:39 |
5.
K.D.'s Blues
|
Kenny Dorham | 09:30 |
6.
Hill's Edge
|
Kenny Dorham | 08:16 |
7.
A Night in Tunisia
|
Kenny Dorham | 09:31 |
8.
Who Cares? [Alternate Take]
|
Kenny Dorham | 04:59 |
9.
Royal Roost
|
Kenny Dorham | 08:41 |
Disc 2 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
Mexico City
|
Kenny Dorham | 06:02 |
2.
'Round About Midnight
|
Kenny Dorham | 07:44 |
3.
Monaco
|
Kenny Dorham | 06:37 |
4.
Who Cares?
|
Kenny Dorham | 06:21 |
5.
My Heart Stood Still
|
Kenny Dorham | 07:49 |
6.
Riffin'
|
Kenny Dorham | 07:50 |
7.
Mexico City [Alternate Take]
|
Kenny Dorham | 06:33 |
8.
The Prophet
|
Kenny Dorham | 06:20 |