KENNY DORHAM: THE COMPLETE 'ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT AT CAFÈ BOHEMIA

Performer: Kenny Dorham, trumpet; J.R. Monterose, tenor saxophone; Kenny Burrell, guitar; Bobby Timmons, piano; Sam Jones, double bass; Arthur Edgehill, drums
Composer: Kenny Dorham
Number of discs: 3
Barcode: 0602475277859
Label: Blue Note (Tone Poet)
Format: LP
Genre: Jazz
Year: 2026

Triple 180-gram LP.

All-analog remastering from the original Rudy Van Gelder master tapes carried out by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.

Pressed at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI) in Camarillo, California.

Deluxe gatefold sleeve manufactured by Stoughton Printing.

Joe Harley, co-founder and co-producer of the highly successful audiophile vinyl reissue series “Tone Poet”, has been chosen as curator of this new series of fully analog remasters sourced directly from the original master tapes, pressed on audiophile 180-gram LPs and presented in deluxe gatefold editions. The remastering is handled by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, while vinyl pressing is entrusted to the renowned American plant Record Technology Incorporated (RTI). Each title in the series is carefully selected by Harley himself and includes lesser-known Blue Note classics, major modern-era releases, and selected albums originally issued on labels associated with the Blue Note catalogue. Great attention has been paid to every detail, from cover artwork to the highest sonic standards achieved through Kevin Gray’s mastering from the original analogue tapes and the exceptional pressing quality from RTI. Every aspect of these Blue Note Tone Poet reissues has been designed to reach the highest possible standard. This means that, no matter how hard one searches, it is impossible to find a better version—these records are simply unmatched. Known as the “Tone Poet,” Joe Harley has set himself the ambitious goal of creating an audiophile reissue series that allows 21st-century listeners to hear the music exactly as it was heard by the musicians themselves, directly from the original analogue tapes and through the studio monitors at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio fifty or sixty years ago. Harley firmly believes that, in terms of quality, Blue Note albums have never reached a level comparable to this series. As he stated in a recent interview: “Every aspect of these Blue Note reissues has been carefully considered down to the smallest detail. This means you will not find an edition of comparable quality.”

The great—but today often underappreciated relative to his merits—trumpeter Kenny Dorham played a vital role in the early history of Blue Note, appearing as a sideman on several important recordings by Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey, contributing to key Horace Silver sessions that helped establish hard bop, and serving as one of the founding members of the Jazz Messengers.

Just six months after the Jazz Messengers recorded their historic live sessions at the Café Bohemia in May 1956, Dorham brought his own sextet to the legendary New York jazz club to record his first live date as a leader. Presented in full in this Tone Poet triple LP box set, The Complete ’Round About Midnight at the Café Bohemia features Dorham alongside tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Arthur Edgehill in a superb program of original compositions by Dorham, Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie, along with a selection of standards from the Great American Songbook.

This Tone Poet Vinyl Edition title was produced by Joe Harley, remastered from the original Rudy Van Gelder analogue tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and presented in a deluxe triple-pocket gatefold tip-on sleeve, including a booklet with previously unpublished Francis Wolff photographs and an insightful essay analyzing all tracks by Syd Schwartz.

Disc 1

Monaco (Set 3 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
’Round About Midnight (Set 3 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Mexico City (Set 3 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
A Night in Tunisia (Set 2 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Autumn in New York (Set 1 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Hill’s Edge (Set 2 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)

Disc 2

K.D.’s Blues (Set 2 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Who Cares? (As Long As You Care for Me) (Set 3 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Mexico City (Set 4 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Royal Roost (Set 2 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
My Heart Stood Still (Set 3 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
The Prophet (Set 4 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)

Disc 3

K.D.’s Blues (Set 1 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Riffin’ (Set 4 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Who Cares? (As Long As You Care for Me) (Set 2 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
Monaco (Set 1 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)
N.Y. Theme (Set 1 / Live at Café Bohemia, May 31, 1956)