Kenny Dorham – Quiet Kenny

Four musicians in Englewood Cliffs

Kenny Dorham recorded “Quiet Kenny” at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio on 13 November 1959. Tommy Flanagan played piano, Paul Chambers bass and Art Taylor drums. Dorham’s trumpet is the only horn. The line-up creates a setting in which a single melodic line can be heard directly against the responses of the rhythm section.

Producer Esmond Edwards also photographed the original cover. The album appeared in 1960 on New Jazz, a label within the Prestige family. Its title directs attention towards Dorham’s restrained side, but need not be treated as an instruction to listen only for quiet moments. Ballads, blues and original compositions place different demands on the quartet across the programme.

A lotus blossom with another name

“Lotus Blossom” opens the album. Dorham’s composition is also known as “Asiatic Raes”, a title used for a recording by Sonny Rollins. It should not be confused with Billy Strayhorn’s different piece of the same name. The opening selection already points towards a repertoire whose connections extend beyond this particular release.

“Blue Friday” and “Blue Spring Shuffle” provide two more Dorham compositions. Alongside them are “My Ideal”, “Alone Together”, “I Had the Craziest Dream” and “Old Folks”. This edition adds “Mack the Knife”, recorded during the same session, to the original programme. The first LP’s seven selections thus become eight without introducing a second recording occasion.

The piano between the lines

Tommy Flanagan’s contribution rewards attention beyond his solos. Listen to his entries beneath the trumpet. How far does a chord carry, and how much space remains before the next response? The relationship between a sustained horn note and a short piano figure offers one way to hear the division of work within the group. Leaving a response unplayed can also be part of that relationship.

Chambers and Taylor provide further points of reference. Following the bass line alone can reveal how it moves through a melody; on another pass, bring the drums into focus. The four musicians remain the same while their tasks change with the piece. The album title supplies a starting point, but the individual selections offer a more precise route through the record.

This edition

Analogue Productions’ AAPJ 211-45 is a Fantasy 45 Series release on two 180-gram LPs at 45 RPM. The publisher credits Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech with mastering; QRP handles pressing. The sleeve is a matte-finish Stoughton tip-on gatefold. No specific tape source is identified. Eight tracks are included, with “Mack the Knife” drawn from the original recording session.

Michael 45 holds the records in Germany and ships them from Hilden, removing the need for a personal import from the United States and the customs wait associated with it.

Also in another edition: Quiet Kenny

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.