McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Jazz is a style of music which originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States at around the start of the 20th century. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Jazz is a style of music which originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States at around the start of the 20th century. ... A trumpeter may be one of several things: A trumpeter is a musician who plays the trumpet. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Fairfield is a city located in Freestone County, Texas. ...

Dorham was one of the most active bebop trumpeters. He played in the big bands of Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton and Mercer Ellington and the quintet of Charlie Parker. He was a charter member of the original cooperative Jazz Messengers. He also recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, and he replaced Clifford Brown in the Max Roach Quintet after Brown's death in 1956. In addition to sideman work, he led his own groups, including the Jazz Prophets (formed shortly after Art Blakey took over the Jazz Messengers name). The Jazz Prophets can be heard on the 1956 Blue Note live album Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia. Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... Billy Eckstine (8 July 1914 – 8 March 1993), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as William Clarence Eckstein. ... John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. ... Lionel Hampton with George W. Bush Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908, Louisville, Kentucky – August 31, 2002 New York City), was a jazz bandleader and percussionist. ... Mercer Ellington (11 March 1919–8 February 1996) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. ... Charles Bird Parker, Jr. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919–October 16, 1990), also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One Theodore Walter Sonny Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10 (according to the official records, though his family claims January 8), 1924)to parents Alphonse and Cressie Roach. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919–October 16, 1990), also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. ...

In 1963 Dorham added the 26-year-old tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson to his group, which later recorded Una Mas (the group also featured a young Tony Williams). The friendship between the two musicians led to a number of other albums, such as Henderson's Our Thing and In'n'Out. Dorham recorded frequently throughout the sixties for Blue Note and Prestige Records, as leader and as sideman for Henderson, Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Andrew Hill, Milt Jackson and others. Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 - June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. ... Prestige Records was a record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock (October 2, 1928–January 14, 2006). ... John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean (born May 17, 1932) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator, born in New York City. ... Cedar Anthony Walton, Junior (born in 1934) is an American hard bop pianist. ... Point of Departure (1964) Andrew Hill (born June 30, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois[1]) is an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Milton (Milt) Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999) was an American jazz vibraphonist and one of the most important figures in the hard bop style. ...

Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did. For this reason, his name has become (in the words of writer Gary Giddins) "virtually synonymous with 'underrated.'" (Born Mar 21, 1948) critic, author, director, best known for his longtime work with the Village Voice. ...

During his final years Dorham suffered from kidney disease, of which he died.

He composed the jazz standard "Blue Bossa," which appears on Joe Henderson's album "Page One." Jazz standard refers to a tune that is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians. ...