Rue Warren

Real Gone Jazz continues its box set catalog series with this fine Kenny Dorham volume. This four-disc collection contains eight full-length Dorham recordings cut between 1953-1960 for Debut, Blue Note, Riverside, and other labels. The set kicks off with Dorham's initial offering as a leader, The Kenny Dorham Quintet for Debut in 1953, and Afro-Cuban for Blue Note from 1955. The second disc contains 'Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia (also for Blue Note) circa 1956, and 2 Horns/2 Rhythm for Riverside in 1957.

It’s the drummer’s job to make everyone else in the band sound good, and Charles Rumback does it very well. Whether he’s playing folk rock with the Horse’s Ha, baroque pop with Steve Dawson, or postbop jazz with Dustin Laurenzi or Paul Bedal, his understated propulsion keeps the focus on whoever’s at the front of the bandstand. He’s similarly versatile in the combos that he leads or coleads, but these projects tend to focus on one facet of his talents.