Right for the part because he isn't a show boat.
Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 07/27/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Count this as another indispensable recording by one of the most essential instrumental voices in jazz. Kern is always harmonically challenging to begin with, and these difficulties combined with the sentiment have caused most jazz musicians to steer clear of "Showboat." But Dorham takes the shifting harmonies of "Nobody Else But Me" along with the operetta-like melody of "Make Believe" and transforms both into imaginative, affecting performances, equally true to the creative artistry of the trumpeter and the composer. And like the show itself, Kenny's playing always hits a deep emotional core without sacrificing musical integrity or, for that matter, a sense of humor. Of all the major trumpet stars, none is less of a "show boat" than K. D.
Jimmy Heath plays with confident authority throughout, while the rhythm section of Kenny Drew, Jimmy Garrison and Art Taylor is in complete synch with the frontline.
This should be a five-star recording simply for being representative Dorham, not to mention the top-flight execution of an unusual and even challenging program. But the audio is somewhat lacking (the separation is ridiculously overdone), as is the duration of the program, barely clocking in at over 30 minutes (none of the tunes is taken as a slow ballad). "Bill," taken at a medium-up tempo, "works" but is not the most satisfying finale. Why not include some more tunes from the show? It would have been interesting to hear what sort of playful approach this ensemble could have come up with for "I Have the Room Above" or how it would have handled an exquisite operatic "aria" like "You Are Love" (I have a hunch Kenny could have done so with emotional power)."
