Kenny Dorham was always underrated throughout his career, not only as a trumpeter but as a composer.
Whistle Stop features seven of his compositions, none of which were picked up later by any of the Young Lions of the '90s despite their high quality and many fresh melodies.
Dorham teams up with tenor-saxophonist
Hank Mobley (who had recorded with him previously, along with
Art Blakey and
Max Roach), pianist
Kenny Drew, bassist
Paul Chambers, and drummer
Philly Joe Jones for a set of lively, fresh, and consistently swinging music. This is a generally overlooked near-classic set.