Trumpet-Tenor Saxophone Quintet

This band draws inspiration primarily from the brilliantly inventive compositions of trumpeter Kenny Dorham, saxophonist Joe Henderson and others featured on classic Blue Note recordings of the 1960s.

The inception of the Quintet started with my desire to perform the mostly forgotten music written by trumpeter Kenny Dorham for the quintet he co-led with saxophonist Joe Henderson in the mid-1960s. These compositions, while within the hard bop genre, are not exactly of it. They are different—dark, soulful, sophisticated, highly arranged, and with ingenious motifs and rhythmic devices that make each one of them a distinctive roadmap for improvisation. (Our video of Dorham’s composition “São Paulo” is a good example of this.) Dorham’s neglected masterpieces form the core of the group’s repertoire and concept, complemented by additional compositions by Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, Walter Bishop Jr., Billy Harper, and others.

The members of the quintet love this music and this group as much as I do and are equally dedicated to it, often traveling long distances or turning down more lucrative gigs in order to play together. We have been together with the same personnel almost 20 years now!

Personnel

Bill Mobley, trumpet

Dave Riekenberg, tenor saxophone

Cecilia Coleman, piano

Matt Clohsey, bass

Chuck Braman, drums

Alternate Personnel

Alex Norris, Richie Vitale, David Smith, trumpet

Tom Christensen, Rich Perry, saxophone

Art Hirahara, piano

Noriko Ueda, Brandi Disterheft, Paul Gill, Thomson Kneeland, bass

Videos

Repertoire

Kenny Dorham:

Back Road

Brown’s Town

Escapade

La Mesha

Night Watch

An Oscar for Oscar

Pedro’s Time

São Paulo

Short Story

Sunrise In Mexico

Sunset

Una Mas

Whistle Stop

Joe Henderson:

Jinrikisha

Mamacita

Our Thing

Punjab

Serenity

Step Lightly

Teeter Tooter

Thelonious Monk:

Hornin’ In

Locomotive

Sixteen

Woody Shaw:

The Moontrane

Theme For Maxine

Various Composers:

Coral Keys (Walter Bishop Jr.)

Crocket Ballet (Billy Harper)

Joshua (Victor Feldman)

Lost (Wayne Shorter)

Pat ‘n Chat (Hank Mobley)

Rio (Wayne Shorter)

Scene (Tom Harrell)

Sky Dive (Freddie Hubbard)

The Black Angel (Kenny Barron)

Waiting For Chet (Hal Galper)

My Other Bands

Guitar Trio/Quartet With a front-line featuring either one or two guitarists, this band performs the music of my favorite composers whose music lends itself to guitar, such as John Abercrombie and Pat Metheny, with a special focus on rarely-performed compositions of Thelonious Monk.

Saxophone Quartet With a front-line consisting of saxophone and guitar, this group explores some of the best, most challenging and most neglected jazz compositions from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Vibraphone Trio/Quartet With a front-line consisting of vibraphone, either alone or supported by guitar, this group explores many rarely-performed compositions that lend themselves to the sound of the vibraphone.

Piano Trio This group explores some of the very best and most rarely-performed compositions of Bill Evans and Antonio Carlos Jobim, among others great jazz composers.