Kenny Dorham's debut as a leader found the 29-year-old trumpeter more than ready to take control; unfortunately, he spent virtually his entire career in the shadows of other trumpeters (such as
Dizzy Gillespie,
Miles Davis,
Clifford Brown, and
Lee Morgan). This set was originally released by the Debut label as a six-song 10" LP, reissued with two alternate takes as a regular album, and then re-released during the CD era with two additional blues and another alternate take. The fine playing by the quintet (with
Jimmy Heath on tenor and baritone, pianist Walter Bishop, bassist
Percy Heath, and drummer
Kenny Clarke) is not watered down by the extra material. A special bonus is the fine arranging of
Dorham for the ensemble, a much overlooked talent of a continually underrated musician. ~ Scott Yanow