1959 Kenny Dorham Septet Featuring Cannonball Adderley “Blue Spring” on Riverside

For a Dorham side with such a killer lineup you weirdly don’t see this one around much. I mean, Mr. PC on bass, JCA on alto, Cedar behind the keys and Philly Joe behind the kit, with Cecil Payne !!! on monster bari, and David Amram on French Horn lending a little Third Stream class to the proceedings. What can you say other than it doesn’t get any more purely fabulous bop than this? Sure, it’s not “Whistle Stop”, but what is? The theme is Spring, and so there’s a breezy, airy feeling in the four Dorham cuts with “Spring” in the title, plus the requisite Rogers & Hart and O. Hammerstein for good measure. Cannonball is a funny name for Julian because his playing is like a metal sparrow, all darts and quick cuts, in and out and not an ounce of unnecessary filigree, he’s like Sugar Ray Robinson, lean and lethal. Cedar Walton is flat just a beautiful cat, but the genius of Kenny cannot be denied, his crazy lyricism, the lovely melody, the provocative compositional twists. Plus, the genius production of Orrin Keepnews! I spun this about 27 times in a row and would have gone for 28 but Lady Wax demurred, preferring, as always, that I put on Fleetwood Mac instead. What can I say, she digs Stevie. There’s all sorts of things that make a relationship work, and a big one is making a relationship work despite aural proclivities. Selah!