1955 10” Kenny Dorham “Afro-Cuban” on Blue Note

Well, this is probably my favorite BN 10”, at least if based on a combination of lineup, music, and art. Which is why, for instance, it beats out another close favorite from ’55, The Lou Mecca Quartet. It’s also extremely cool that the art on the 10” is by Gil Melle! The ’57 12” is also among my favorites in the entire BN catalog, for what should be fairly apparent reasons, for instance three extra tracks from a mind-blowingly great session, an insane lineup of Cecil Payne on baritone, Oscar Pettiford/Percy Heath on bass, Potato Valdes on congas, Blakey, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Jay Jay Johnson on trombone, and twelve-year-old genius Dorham blowing the straight horn. PLUS, the 12” may also be my favorite Reid “Fifty Bucks A Cover” Miles cover.  Word on the street is that Miles, who was also a compositional kingpin over at racy men’s mag Esquire at the time, didn’t actually like jazz very much. It’s one of those deals where it’s entirely possibly that the genius of his design was predicated on being emotionally removed from the subject. No ham fists or over-laudatory images, just slick color masking, fonts, and photography that, with each release, has a connective tissue and tonal consistency that probably would be impossible if he were a Charlie Parker fanboy. Anyway, you don’t need any words on the cuts, and neither do I. Bop, Baby.