McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an … Read Full Bio ↴McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas.

Dorham was one of the most active bebop trumpeters. He played in the big bands of Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton and Mercer Ellington and the quintet of Charlie Parker. He was a charter member of the original cooperative Jazz Messengers. He also recorded as a sideman with Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, and he replaced Clifford Brown in the Max Roach Quintet after Brown's death in 1956. In addition to sideman work, he led his own groups, including the Jazz Prophets (formed shortly after Art Blakey took over the Jazz Messengers name). The Jazz Prophets can be heard on the 1956 Blue Note live album Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia.

Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did. For this reason, his name has become (in the words of writer Gary Giddins) "virtually synonymous with 'underrated.'"

During his final years Dorham suffered from kidney disease, of which he died.

But Beautiful
Kenny Dorham Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Love is funny or it's sad,
Or it's quiet or it's mad,
It's a good thing or it's bad,
But beautiful!

Beautiful to take a chance
And if you fall, you fall,
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all.

Love is tearful or it's gay.
It's a problem or it's play,
It's a heartache either way,
But beautiful!

And I'm thinking if you were mine

I'd never let you go,
And that would be but beautiful I know.

Overall Meaning

The song "But Beautiful" by Kenny Dorham is a contemplation on the nature of love. It explores the idea that love can be both positive and negative, and that even when it is painful, it has a beauty that is undeniable. The opening lines of the song set the theme, as Dorham sings that love is "funny or it's sad, or it's quiet or it's mad, it's a good thing or it's bad, but beautiful!" What this suggests is that love is a complex emotion, and that it is never easy to define or understand. It can be filled with contradictions and conflicting emotions, but despite this, it remains something beautiful.

The chorus of the song reinforces this idea. It describes how love is "tearful or it's gay" and that it can be both a problem and a plaything. It acknowledges the fact that love can lead to heartache, but asserts that even when it does, it is still beautiful. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is in love with someone, and that they find that person completely captivating. They say, "And I'm thinking if you were mine, I'd never let you go, and that would be but beautiful I know." The suggestion here is that love is something worth holding on to, even if it has its difficult moments.

Line by Line Meaning

Love is funny or it's sad,
Love can elicit different emotions, ranging from humor to sadness.

Or it's quiet or it's mad,
Love can be calm or intense.

It's a good thing or it's bad,
Love can be positive or negative.

But beautiful!
Despite the varied nature of love, it is still beautiful overall.

Beautiful to take a chance
It's beautiful to risk it all for love.

And if you fall, you fall,
Taking such a risk comes with the possibility of failure but also rewards.

And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all.
The singer is willing to take such a chance.

Love is tearful or it's gay.
Love can make one cry or feel joyous.

It's a problem or it's play,
Love can be complicated or fun.

It's a heartache either way,
Love can bring pain no matter what.

But beautiful!
Yet, love remains beautiful despite the pain it may bring.