The release of this recording must have surprised most
jazz
listeners at the time, for trumpeter
Kenny Dorham
sings on all ten selections. He had never hinted at any desire to sing previously (although he had sung a
blues
regularly with
Dizzy Gillespie & His Orchestra
in the 1940s) and, as it turned out, this was his one and only
vocal
album; the sales were probably quite a bit less than
Chet Baker
's records of the period.
Dorham
had an OK voice, musical if not memorable, but the arrangements for these selections (which utilize his trumpet and
Curtis Fuller
's trombone, both of which are muted all the time) are inventive and pleasing. The supportive rhythm section is also an asset; pianist
Cedar Walton
made his recording debut on this album (released on CD via the
Original Jazz Classics
imprint), which is a historical curiosity. ~ Scott Yanow