One of the worst things the totalitarians do to people is get inside their heads. Creativity helps annul that. It’s at least close to thinking or overlaps thinking for oneself. Jazz is spontaneously created and invented on the spot, within musical parameters. In high school,Kenny Dorham had begun to teach himself piano and trumpet. By the age of 19 he was playing in a big band. As he moved around he began composing and arranging, key requirements for big band music. Dorham became an early bebop trumpeter who by 1948 was playing in Charlie Parker’s quintet, after replacing Miles Davis … Continue reading Jazz Birthday: Kenny Dorham (1924)