standing in the shadows of motown

it's always such a shame that the great career of a musician as talented as this goes so largely overlooked, forever in the shadows of the "better known" bop trumpeters named dizzy and miles. but kenny dorham's undeniable talent is highlighted in this intimate little live double-set " 'round about midnight live at the cafe bohemia", which is perhaps a little more pallatable an introduction to this genre for non-jazz fans than some of the hard-bop being produced by his counterparts around the same time (1956).

i have a particular fondness for musicians who cover monk songs, and dorham's ballad interpretation of the title track, "round about midnight" is one of the album standouts. i'm also particularly fond of the dizzy cover of "a night in tunisia", and the dorham-penned bop track "mexico city" (which sounds a lot like a reinterpretation of bud powell's "tempus fugue-it", though have yet to find a jazz critic who is willing to back up my claims). also keep an ear out for guitarist kenny burrell, who only one day prior to these live recordings had just finished recording his blue note debut, "introducing kenny burrell"

also check out the art blakey + jazz messengers "live at the cafe bohemia" recordings to hear a bit more of dorham at his best...