D.C. Special – Kenny Dorham

An uptempo blues head with a hard-bop kick, this song certainly deserves to be better known. In signature K.D. fashion there's plenty of rhythm section activity, in this case piano and drum hits that complement and fill in around the melody. The two choruses of the head are slightly different, particularly in the end of the first phrase. Both have a tritone-sub V of V as the turnaround (C7-B7-B♭7); in the first chorus this is followed by a chromatic variant of the "Tadd Dameron" turnaround, resolving stepwise down to G♭maj7.

There is a shout chorus after the solos, included in our lead sheet; a bit simpler than the head but with a similar turnaround, it leads to a one-chorus out head (based on the first chorus of the in head) and a coda which tags the turnaround with different changes.

The recording features a four-horn arrangement, but this song certainly works in a smaller group setting. Also on the recording but not included in our lead sheet are two choruses of rhythm section background figures, played behind each horn soloist; these are related but a bit different from the rhythm section hits in the head.