Lotus Blossom – Kenny Dorham

The many different arrangements of this song can be grouped broadly in two categories: 6/8 and 4/4 versions. This earliest recording belongs to the first category. (Click on the fifth album cover, "Quiet Kenny," for a detailed description of how these two versions differ.) The 6/8 sections of the head here have the same melody as in other 6/8 versions, but there is a distinctive bass line unique to this recording; this is notated in the condensed score. The drum groove here is a distinctly Latin pattern, also indicated in the score for the intro which is eight measures of solo drums.

Another unique feature of this version is the rhythm section hits on the fifth measure of the A and C sections: while most other versions have the hits with the lower notes of the melody starting on the "and" of beat 1, here the hits are with the higher notes and begin on the downbeat. There is no melodic line in the last two measures of the first A section; drums fill in this space instead. Our Concert Condensed Score shows the rhythms of Philly Joe Jones' fills for the in head, as well as some of Sonny's melodic fills on the bridge. The solo changes are the same in all versions; on this recording the first chorus of Sonny's solo is played with a 6/8 Latin feel for the entire chorus, before going to 4/4 swing for the rest of the solos.

"Newk's Time" was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary Hackensack Studio.

This song is titled Asiatic Raes on this recording; interestingly, Freddie Hubbard's recording also uses that title though that version stays in 4/4 for the entire head, contrasting with the Rollins' one. Philly Joe Jones is the drummer on both of these recordings. "Newk's Time" was Sonny Rollins' third album as a leader for Blue Note. This rhythm section combination only recorded together on this album, though Wynton Kelly and Doug Watkins were on two Pepper Adams sessions in November '57 and March '58 with Elvin Jones on drums.

Sonny Rollins and Kenny Dorham were longtime friends and associates. They started recording together on a J.J. Johnson session in 1949. K.D. was next with Sonny Rollins on Sonny's 1954 recording "Movin' Out," which also featured Elmo Hope.

In 1956 and 1957 we were able to count Kenny and Sonny together on eight different session entries in the Lord discography under the leadership of Max Roach, four of which also feature pianist Ray Bryant (they recorded Ray's Minor Trouble). In 1957 they also recorded La Villa for Kenny's "Jazz Contrasts" album. Their last recording together was on October 27, 1957, on an Abbey Lincoln vocal session, with bassist Paul Chambers.

As you'll see, all four of these important artists appear often on jazzleadsheets.com: Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Doug Watkins and Philly Joe Jones.

For this recording we've created three Condensed Score editions (concert treble clef, B-flat and E-flat editions) which will allow you to explore this arrangement with different instrumentations.

This piano-less quartet recording is the first of the several 4/4 versions. Within this 4/4 adaptation there are two main variations of the second and fourth measure "break" lines of the A and C sections: one with pentatonic lines that rise and fall, and another with mostly descending lines. In the latter the second measure is closer to that of the 6/8 version, while the fourth measure descends similar to a blues scale. This recording uses the first variation for the A sections and the second for the C section.

The horns are largely in unison, harmonized only on the first and third measures of the A and C sections and the second measure of the bridge. The melody contains fills in the last two measures of both A sections and the third and fourth measures of the bridge. Because there is no piano and the bass part on the head consists of rhythmic figures with no walking, our Condensed Score for this version has no chord symbols, only bass note indications (in circles under the staff).

This arrangement is the basis for the two-horn arrangement we use for the out head of our "K.D. Challenge" version. If you need solo changes, you'll find them in this arrangement.

This is the first recording to feature Kenny Dorham in a combo without piano or guitar, a setting he was to play in frequently with drummer Max Roach. This session was the first studio recording of the obscure bassist Eddie Mathias; he would later record with multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Max Roach but is not known from any recordings after 1971. Wilbert Granville T. Hogan is also a relatively little-known name today, but this drummer (also known as G.T. Hogan) played extensively with Lionel Hampton and Ray Charles, and can be found on our site recording Social Call with vocalist Earl Coleman. He also recorded on the 1961 Elmo Hope session where Elmo revisited Crazy, Maybe So and Moe Is On. Hogan is also on pianist Kenny Drew's 1957 album "This Is New" which also features tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and trumpeter Donald Byrd playing Drew's only original on that session, Carol (coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com).

K.D. first recorded with Ernie Henry in 1957, on "Presenting Ernie Henry" for Riverside Records. That session also featured pianist Kenny Drew. (Don Sickler: I'm sure they probably played in big bands together in the late '40s, but I can't find them listed together in any Lord Discography sessions). See other jazzleadsheets.com titles Ernie recorded.

The arrangement from this recording formed the basis of a quintet arrangement by jazzleadsheets.com's Don Sickler, recorded by trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw on the first of their two collaborative albums, "Double Take." This is also the arrangement on most of the out head of our "K.D. Challenge" version; click on the last album cover for more details.

This is yet another very different version, combining 6/8 and 4/4. The rhythm section sets up the 6/8 groove in the intro, leading to only three measures of 6/8 on the head; the rest of the in head is in 4/4. This time the second and fourth measures of the 4/4 melody are the same rising and falling lines as on the A sections of the "2 Horns/2 Rhythm" version, but with the fourth measure more of a blues scale. This measure is harmonized by the two horns in fifths, and the 6/8 melody is also harmonized.

As in the Sonny Rollins version, there is no melodic fill at the end of the first A section; this version is the first whose A section melody ends on the tonic instead of the third (on the first A section only).

Two unique harmonic characteristics here are Dm6 instead of Dsus in the 6/8 sections and the suspension of Gm7 to Dm in the ends of the A and C sections. The out head is in 4/4 for the A sections, going to 6/8 on the first three measures of the C section—this is the same format as the out heads of the "Quiet Kenny" version and our "K.D. Challenge".

We have created a Concert Condensed Score edition for you to explore.

French tenor/soprano saxophonist Barney Wilen is perhaps best known for his playing on film soundtracks, and indeed his quintet (with Kenny Clarke instead of Daniel Humair on drums) recorded the soundtrack to "Un Temoin Dans La Ville," written and directed by Edouard Molinaro, around the time of this live recording. During Kenny Dorham's and Duke Jordan's stay in Paris that month, the same group with Kenny Clarke also recorded a session with Andy & The Bey Sisters. You'll find pianist Duke Jordan on quite a few other recordings on jazzleadsheets.com

Wilen's album simply titled "Barney" was recorded live at Club Saint-Germain; a second album from these gigs was released on the BMG label.

Three horns, no piano, and taken at a Tempo di Max tempo! The most advanced of the arrangements of this song we have available, this one is a 4/4 version. The melody of the second and fourth measures on the A and C sections is most similar to that of the C section on the "2 Horns/2 Rhythm" version. Remarkably for this tempo, the bass doubles the melody for the last three measures of the A section; this includes a melodic fill again similar to the one on "2 Horns/2 Rhythm"—especially remarkable as the drums only play on the second of these three measures! The bass walks on the bridge, unlike in "2 Horns/2 Rhythm."

After the in head, there is an interlude (the D section) a la Max—four measures of 5/4 and four measures of 3/4, all with the dotted half note the same length as the whole note in 4/4 as in the 6/8 versions of this song. This section is definitely based on those 6/8 sections, as like most of them it's a vamp alternating Dsus and Csus.

There are three sets of backgrounds for the solos and a shout chorus for the drums, all notated in our Condensed Score. The drum shout chorus, a repeated whole-tone figure, is half of the original tempo. The coda takes the tutti melodic fill from the A section to three long chords and a final unison hit; the last of these chords is played slightly shorter, so it is notated as a dotted half note rather than a whole note, still with a fermata.

We have created a Concert Condensed Score edition for you to explore.

"Quiet As It's Kept" also includes a version of trombonist Julian Priester's Juliano. Two other recordings of Lotus Blossom by this quintet come from performances in their 1960 European tour: one from Lausanne, Switzerland (February 2) and the other from Kaiserslautern, Germany (February 5). These versions have more dynamic contrast in the head; the drum shout melody is slightly different.

Kenny Dorham played in Max's combo from fall 1956 to spring 1958 when he was replaced by Booker Little. And one must not forget the fiery energy of Tommy Turrentine's trumpet playing.

In addition to their leadership or co-leadership roles, you'll find Max Roach, Julian Priester and Stanley Turrentine on other sessions on jazzleadsheets.com

We've had this arrangement available in a printed edition for years. It is Don Sickler's quintet arrangement written for the first Freddie Hubbard / Woody Shaw album (Double Take) for Blue Note Records. If you already have this arrangement in your library, you're going to love checking out the other arrangements here. They're all different.

Freddie Hubbard's version is in 4/4 throughout. The A section is most similar to the 4/4 A sections of Barney Wilen's version. However, there is a melodic fill at the end of the first A section similar to that of the ""Quiet Kenny" arrangement. Unlike the Barney Wilen arrangement, the A section melody ends on the tonic instead of the third; the horns play in octaves starting on the fourth measure, and the suspension at the end of the second A section is Dsus to D minor. The bridge, uniquely to this version, has a Latin feel; the pickup for the melody is in triplets instead of the usual 8th notes. The end of the head is a two-measure solo break.

This version does not have much of an out head. The last chorus begins as a drum shout, similar to the "Quiet Kenny" version but adding an extra figure to the fifth and sixth measures of the A sections. The bridge is solo drums all the way through, followed by the C section as it was on the in head. This ends in a drum break, which sets up a 6/8 Latin groove with a vamp that fades out to end. This vamp is based on the first measure of the head in 6/8, as in the "Quiet Kenny" version—the piano and bass parts here are the same as the equivalent measure in that arrangement. Yet another way to put the same ingredients together!

We've created a Concert Condensed Score edition for you to explore. As mentioned above, the complete printed quintet arrangement is available from many music dealers.

"Goin' Up" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.

The title Asiatic Raes was used for this recording as it was for Sonny Rollins' (note that Philly Joe Jones was on both recordings), even though Sonny's is a 6/8 version while this is a 4/4 version. "Goin' Up" was Freddie's second album as a leader; this was the only small group recording with McCoy Tyner and Philly Joe Jones.

McCoy and Philly Joe also accompanied their fellow Philadelphian, trumpeter Lee Morgan, in an 11-piece band on one session for Lee's 1966 album "Delightfulee." In the weeks leading up to the "Goin' Up" session, McCoy recorded on the classic John Coltrane sessions for the albums "Coltrane Plays The Blues," "My Favorite Things" and "Coltrane's Sound."

Freddie would later record this song again, in a quintet arrangement by jazzleadsheets.com's Don Sickler, on the 1985 album "Double Take" co-led with Woody Shaw. This quintet arrangement is a 4/4 version based on "2 Horns/2 Rhythm" and is used for the out head of our "K.D. Challenge" version.

from the Michael Cuscuna "Double Take" liner notes: It was decided early on that this album, which has been in the talking stages for six years through three record labels, be musical and not competitive. Woody Shaw at one point suggested a selection of great compositions by some of the trumpet innovators in jazz. That concept stuck, when after several false starts the project was finally realized on November 21 and 22, 1985.

from Don Sickler: I had the honor of writing the arrangements for this session and for their later album Blue Note album together, The Eternal Triangle (recorded June 11, 1987, also at Rudy Van Gelder's studio).

Freddie Hubbard he loved K.D.'s writing and playing, and Freddie told me he was elated when K.D. gave him two songs to record for his "Goin' Up" album (the other one is Karioka). This album was also Freddie's first recording with saxophonist Hank Mobley, with whom he would record again a week later on Hank's classic "Roll Call" album. Freddie and Hank became great friends and would record on several other albums together, including Hank's "The Turnaround" album. Freddie had already recorded on several sessions with bassist Paul Chambers, including Paul's 1959 album "Go" which also features Freddie on Paul's classic composition Ease It.

You can keep up with the ever-growing number of jazzleadsheets.com sessions each of these legendary artists performed on by clicking on their names below, or by typing a name in the top search box that is on every page: Freddie Hubbard / Hank Mobley / McCoy Tyner / Paul Chambers / Philly Joe Jones. Every session shows artistry, mastery of their instruments and commitment to the music.

Don Sickler: In my 2001 "K.D. Challenge" recording session, we explored Lotus Blossom in 3 different takes:
CLIPquintet as a quintet arrangement (the basis for our Minus You piano, bass and drums tracks) ;
CLIPquartet123 as a quartet single horn feature (both of these are 6/8 versions),
CLIP841fast and as a faster quartet 4/4 version that features the drums. We'd like to share all three of these with you.

My quintet arrangement and the quartet version are based on K.D.'s quartet "Quiet Kenny" arrangement, which we're calling his 6/8 version of Lotus Blossom. Our quintet track has an alto sax solo followed by piano and bass solos and then goes into the drum shout before the out melody. This master track has been edited to become our Minus You piano, bass and drum tracks.

The piano, bass and drum parts are also the parts for either Kenny's quartet version (where you would add a front line instrument: find your appropriate instrument part) or our Minus You version.

As with other songs in our K.D. Challenge series, we have included the melody on a separate staff in all rhythm section parts. Similarly, melody parts have rhythm section activity indicated under the staff.

The fast 4/4 quartet version featuring the drums is available with a Minus You drums track. This fast drum edition uses the same arrangement as the 4/4 out head on the quintet track. Click on the Drum Corner tab for more details. For the fast 4/4 drum feature version, we have created a separate C treble clef lead sheet edition. We are also providing a Minus You melody track. Melody players can either transpose the C part for their instrument, or, play letter J of the 6/8 arrangement for each A and C section of the 4/4 arrangement.

To play the "Quiet Kenny" 6/8 version yourself as a quartet or expand it to a quintet, you will be able to recognize your part from the listing to your right.

"The K.D. Challenge" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.

Don Sickler: Our first Lotus Blossom publication was my arrangement for the Freddie Hubbard /Woody Shaw "Double Take" album for Blue Note. This is a 4/4 version arrangement. I was always intrigued with the variety of 6/8 and 4/4 arrangements that Kenny Dorham came up with, and I also wanted to preserve his "Quiet Kenny" format in a quintet arrangement, so in 2001 I came up with my quintet adaptation. At our "K.D. Challenge" session, we also tried a faster 4/4 version CLIP featuring the drums, which is also available (labeled faster 4/4 version MP3 audio track).

The melody of Lotus Blossom has been interpreted and recorded two different ways for our Minus You version. The first has a 6/8 feel for the first four bars of the melody then goes to swing. The second version is faster, features the drums and is interpreted in 4/4 time. This version has an eight-measure drum solo intro; after the head there is a chorus of trading 8s followed by the drum shout chorus as in the other versions.

Click here to learn more about"The K.D. Challenge" recordings and be sure to check out the rest!

On our recording session, we recorded three takes of Lotus Blossom, all are available. The first take is what we call the 6/8 quintet, and this track is used for minus piano, minus bass, and minus drums.

QUINTET First, the master take:
-- intro
-- melody
-- alto sax solo 2 choruses
-- piano solo 2 choruses
-- bass solo 1 chorus
-- drum shout
-- out melody

QUINTET minus Piano
-- intro: bass plays first 4 measures alone (no count off), then drums are added for the next 4, then piano enters for the last 8
-- melody: play figures and comp
-- comp for the alto sax solo 2 choruses
-- solo 2 choruses
-- comp for the bass solo 1 chorus
-- play figures for the drum shout
-- out melody: play figures and comp

QUINTET minus Bass
-- count off sets up the intro
-- play the intro; cymbal hits have been added for the first four measures to lock in the bass figure until the drum groove enters at the 5th measure
play figures and walk for the melody
-- walk for the alto sax and piano solos (2 choruses each)
-- solo one chorus
-- play figures for the drum shout
-- play figures and walk for the out melody

QUINTET minus Drums
-- intro: bass plays first 4 measures alone (no count off), then continue the groove for 12 measures, last 8 are also with piano
-- melody: play figures and comp
-- comp for the alto sax solo (2 choruses), piano solo (2), and bass solo (1)
-- solo around figures for the drum shout
-- out melody: play figures and comp

The second take was 6/8 quartet. and it is also our minus melody track and trio (bass and drums only) track:
QUARTET quartet version
-- intro (no count off)
-- melody
-- 2 trumpet solo choruses
-- out melody

QUARTET minus Melody
-- intro: 16 measures (no count off) bass alone(4) add drums(4), add piano (8)
-- play the melody
-- solo 2 choruses
-- play the out melody

QUARTET Trio: bass & drums only
-- count off (in case you want to experiment over the 16-measure intro)
-- play melody
-- solo 2 choruses
-- play the out melody

At the session, we then tried a fast 4/4 version, featuring the drums:
CLIP master fast 4/4 take
-- intro: (no count off) drums solos for 8 measures
-- trumpet plays melody: trumpet takes break into 8s
-- trumpet trades 8s with drums (1 chorus)
-- drum shout: tutti figures set up drums
-- trumpet plays out melody

Melody instruments can get their fast chops together by playing with the trumpet in the master take, or we have a minus melody take:
FAST minus melody fast 4/4 track
-- intro: (no count off) drums solos for 8 measures
-- play melody, and take the 2 measure solo break
-- trade 8s with drums (1 chorus)
-- play out melody

FAST minus Drums fast 4/4 take-- [downbeat snaps have been added in solo sections]
-- count off followed by downbeat snaps for 8 measure solo
-- melody: play figures and comp. Trumpet takes 2 measure solo break
-- play 8s for one chorus with trumpet (trumpet starts)
-- drum shout: solo around figures
-- trumpet plays out melody: play figures and comp

This track is also great practice for pianists and bassists to lock in with a drummer:
FAST minus piano - Fast Drum Edition in 4/4
-- intro: (no count off) drums solos for 8 measures
-- melody: lock in figures with melody, bass and drums
-- 8s with drums (1 chorus) comp for trumpet 8s
-- drum shout: lock in tutti figures
-- out melody: lock in figures with melody, bass and drums

FAST minus bass - Fast Drum Edition in 4/4
-- intro: (no count off) drums solos for 8 measures
-- melody: lock in figures with melody, piano and drums
-- 8s with drums (1 chorus) walk for trumpet 8s
-- drum shout: lock in tutti figures
-- out melody: lock in figures with melody, piano and drums