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.
Where Are You?
Kenny Dorham Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where have you gone without me
I thought you cared about me
Where are you
Where's my heart
Where is the dream we started
I can't believe we're parted
Where are you
What had we to gain
When I gave you my love
Was it all in vain
All life through
Must I go on pretending
Where is my happy ending
Where are you
When we said good-bye love
What had we to gain
When I gave you my love
Was it all in vain
All life through
Must I go on pretending
Where is that happy ending
Where are you
Where are you
The lyrics of Kenny Dorham's song "Where Are You?" are a mournful plea to a lost love. The singer is searching for the one who has gone away without them, questioning why they would leave him behind. He thought that they cared for each other, but now that connection is gone. He's looking for his heart and the dream they started together, wondering how they could have parted ways. The song questions whether their parting was worth it, whether giving love was all in vain.
The chorus emphasizes the feelings of loneliness and uncertainty about the future. The line "Where are you" is repeated several times to reinforce the absence of the person the singer is searching for. The song ends with the same questions it began with - where is the happy ending, where is his love. Dorham's lyrics are introspective and reveal the pain and confusion that comes with a broken heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Where are you
I'm desperately searching for you
Where have you gone without me
I feel abandoned and left behind
I thought you cared about me
I believed that you loved me
Where's my heart
Where is my emotional center of being
Where is the dream we started
What happened to the aspirations and plans we had
I can't believe we're parted
I'm in disbelief that we're not together
When we said good-bye love
When we ended our love affair
What had we to gain
What did we hope to achieve by breaking up
When I gave you my love
When I devoted my heart to you
Was it all in vain
Did I waste my time and energy loving you
All life through
For the rest of my life
Must I go on pretending
Do I have to pretend that everything is okay
Where is my happy ending
Where is the joy and contentment I expected
Where are you
I'm still searching for you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lew Pollack, Lou Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
326Ka
love this brothas music.rip great brother.
Yean Kim
Kenny Dorham - Trumpet
Curtis Fuller - Trombone
Cedar Walton - Piano
Sam Jones - Bass
Charlie Persip - Drums