Early Years: The Original Albums 1953-56

Kenny Dorham was a jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, born in Texas in 1924, who was always highly regarded and widely respected, without breaking into the upper echelons of the genre alongside high profile giants like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. Jazz writer Garry Giddins said that "Dorham's name has become 'virtually synonymous with 'underrated'". Beginning his recording career in 1945 as the bebop revolution took hold, he recorded as a sideman with a host of major names, most notably Charlie Parker, until recording his first session leading his own band in 1953, for the Debut label. This 2-CD collection comprises the complete original contents of four of his early albums as leader - "The Kenny Dorham Quintet" on Debut, "Afro-Cuban" and "'Round About Midnight - 'Live' At The Cafe Bohemia" on Blue Note and "Kenny Dorham & The Jazz Prophets" on ABC-Paramount. He records with various quintet and sextet line-ups (expanded with percussion on "Afro-Cuba"), which feature significant jazz names of the day, including Jimmy Heath, Walter Bishop, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, J.J. Johnson, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Oscar Pettiford, Bobby Timmons, Arthur Edgehill and more. Featuring a mixture of original compositions and standards, it showcases his qualities as both trumpeter and leader.