Quiet Kenny - Kenny Dorham

McKinley (Kenny) Howard Dorham was born on August 30, 1924. He achieved fame as a trumpet player and composer during the 1950's and 1960's performing with other musicians and also as a band leader. While he usually performed in a quintet or sextet with other reed or brass players, in this case he led a quartet with himself as a the lead instrument. He had a stellar rhythm section supporting him with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums. The album was recorded on November 13, 1959 (a Friday, as it turns out) at Rudy Van Gelder's studio and was produced by Esmond Edwards. It was released on the New Jazz label, a subsidiary of Prestige Records. 

The album was received warmly, and has gone on to be very highly regarded, with the 3rd Edition of the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD calling it "a minor masterpiece". There is a Miles Davis influence discernable both in Kenny's sound and the tempos of the songs. There are no bebop style "burners", rather there is an emphasis on melody and sound, with the supporting cast providing Kenny with lots of room to explore. His sound is rich and pure with definition in his tone. Tommy Flanagan gets an opportunity to solo on most of the songs, with Paul Chambers also getting a few chances to step out and show what an outstanding bassist he was. Art Taylor's drums are well recorded as well. Rudy Van Gelder was one of the best recording engineers when it came jazz, and he built his own studio in Englewood Cliffs New Jersey earlier in 1959, prior to the recording of this record. Of the eight tracks on the record, three were originals composed by Kenny, with the other five being well known standards that Kenny personally selected based on his preference. A very good example of the cooler style of jazz that became popular in the lay 1950's and early 1960's.     

                     Oliver Jones Trio Featuring Dave Young and Terry Clarke

                                                        Cookin' At Sweet Basil

Oliver Jones is a Canadian pianist who grew up in Montreal, Quebec. He was a contemporary of Oscar Peterson's, and studied as a young man under Oscar's sister, Daisy, a noted piano teacher. His style is similar to Oscar's as well. To quote from Richard Cook and Brian Morton's Third Edition of "The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD", Jones is "a frequently engaging soloist, filling his records with good-hearted swinging music. His ballads are glossy rather than introspective, but one listens to Jones for his generous virtuosity, not his tenderness". 

"Cookin' At Sweet Basil" is a live recording from the famous Sweet Basil Jazz Club located in Greenwich Village in New York City. The recording was made on September 3rd, 1987 during the 6th Annual Greenwich Village Jazz Festival. As indicated in the title, Oliver was accompanied by two other famous Canadian jazz musicians, Dave Young (double bass) and Terry Clarke (drums). The songs are mix of originals and standards. During the opening number, "Snuggles" (written by Oliver), we get to hear the trio open up and let loose on an uptempo song. Dave performs an particularly outstanding arco solo, and then we get to hear Terry's facility as the group "trades fours". I would also recommend the beautiful interpretation of "My Funny Valentine". While this is a song that many artists have recorded, the version here has its own unique identity. The album has seven songs all told. It was released on the Justin Time Label in LP (vinyl) format (which is the one I have) as well as CD and Cassette. Oliver has over twenty recordings to his name, with virtually all (with one exception) on the Justin Time label. If you aren't familiar with his music, he one of Canada's jazz treasures, and well worth listening to.