Kenny Dorham (reissue)
'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia
Blue Note/Music Matters MMBLP 1524 2 180g 45 rpm mono LPs
Produced by: Alfred Lion
Engineered by: Rudy Van Gelder
Mixed by: Rudy Van Gelder
Mastered by: Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech
Review by: Michael Fremer
2010-01-01
How rare and collectible is this record? A mint original sold for $678.00 back in 2004. I doubt it sounds as good as this double 45rpm reissue but I can’t be sure since I don’t have one.
This 1956 monophonic release recorded live on May 31st 1956 at the Café Bohemia opens with a musical gesture familiar to all who love Cannonball Adderley’s Blue Note classic Somethin’ Else (BLP 1595) issued two years later: the opening intro to “Autumn Leaves” cops the intro to “Monaco.”
Of course that has nothing to do with why the original is so valuable or why this reissue is one of the Music Matters “must haves.”
The sadly underrated trumpeter who died when just 48 years old leads a then young group consisting of J.R. Monterose (then 29), Kenny Burrell (25), Bobby Timmons (19), Sam Jones and drummer Arthur Edgehill through a set of tunes recorded live at the New York club by Rudy Van Gelder who manages an astonishingly well-balanced recording under what must have been difficult conditions back then.
The gorgeous, thick, dark tone the group produces on the cover of “Round About Midnight” is alone worth the price of admission. It drips with melancholy.
The quick-paced “Mexico City” showcases Burrell’s clean lines and Timmons’ already accomplished abilities as a soloist and proficient background comping talent.
The chestnut “A Night in Tunisia” gets a swaggering, cowbell heavy reading that’s cool compared to the one Art Blakey gives it on the Blue Note album named after the tune. Here Dorham tears into the melody, scaling majestically above and below the basic line, as does Monterose.
It’s hard to believe this set is from 1956. It sounds fresh and contemporary today both musically and sonically and it confirms Dorham’s status as among the most underrated players of his generation. Miles Davis aficionados unfamiliar with Dorham would be well served buying this gem of a time capsule.
Of course Music Matters' packaging is first class as is the mastering and pressing.
Copyright © 2008 MusicAngle.com & Michael Fremer - All rights reserved Reprinted by permission
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