Monaco – Kenny Dorham

We start our exploration of this wonderful K.D. composition with the two takes Kenny recorded on this live recording. Listening to our A section excerpts of both recorded takes (one after the other), you'll hear Kenny's two different interpretations of his A section melody.
master take CLIPA
alternate take CLIPB

Note from Don Sickler: In 1991 I did a sextet (three-horn) arrangement of Monaco for the album "Take One," T.S. Monk's first recording for the Blue Note label. I had listened closely to Kenny's two takes on his live quintet recording, and fortunately Kenny Dorham had also deposited his own carefully notated lead sheet of the 16-measure A section of Monaco at the Copyright Office in 1958, one year after his earlier publisher had registered a less accurate lead sheet. Kenny's lead sheet became the basis for the trumpet melody part for my sextet arrangement and the melody edition lead sheet for our "K.D. Challenge" Minus You tracks, which also contain the (B) and (C) sections of the composition.

Now, we've made available full melody transcriptions (the complete in and out melodies of both of Kenny's recorded takes), so you can study this master interpreting his own melody. Comparing these melody transcription editions with my lead sheet edition, which came from Kenny's manuscript, will give you further insight into creating your own melody interpretation. The piano, bass and drum editions for both recordings are the same.

In my original sextet arrangement and in our "K.D. Challenge" editions I expanded Kenny's original arrangement by adding horn exchanges with drums (8s). From Kenny's original recording you'll find that he gets out of the double time solo tempo ingeniously by immediately interjecting an eight-measure interlude consisting of "and-of-4" stop time hits with little drum setups, ending with a bar of dead silence to set up the return to the original Latin A section. In my arrangements, the drums continue to solo through the interlude, up to the dead stop.

Though this song may seem complex with its tempo changes and rhythm section figures, it is actually relatively simple for a Dorham composition. A song in F minor, its melody picks up exactly where the coda of Minor's Holiday leaves off. The mood is set by a Latin groove intro with a mysterious-sounding bass line, which continues on the first and last four measures of this 16-measure form; the middle eight measures are swinging. After this first chorus, the tempo doubles for an interlude or "bridge" with rhythm section stop-time. A variation of the A section melody is then played again in the same faster tempo, again with stop-time figures at the beginning and end. This section is also the solo form. The interlude which follows the solo section reintroduces stop-time. On Kenny's original recording, the tenor sax plays simple "pads" under the swung parts of the melody. I expanded this idea in my three-horn arrangement.

Note that the lead sheets available under each album cover are identical; if you click to order one, the checkmark will also appear by the part under the other album (click on the album cover to change views).

The arrangement on this recording is the same as on Dorham's original version, at least with respect to the rhythm section. There is no two-horn arrangement here; the trumpet has the entire melody on the in and out heads. As with many other songs in our "K.D. Challenge" series, the rhythm section parts have the melody notated on a separate staff above the part.

To learn why we think Kenny Dorham's music is so important, click About The K.D. Challenge.