Bob Dorsey

The rise of rock music in the '50s and '60s resulted in many fine players from the previous era of swing dangling for work. This saxophonist, on the other side of the unemployment line, did more than just get with the new trends. His thorough grounding in the heavily rhythmic music from the jazz tradition that gave birth to rock seemed to be just the preperation he needed to become one of the most authorative tenor saxophone soloists of the '50s and '60s, although he was not always credited. Bob Dorsey played in the Cab Calloway group among other affiliations, which along with the similar music of Louis Jordan was one of the great influences in the music Chuck Berry would develop. The Dorsey style--heavily on the beat and full of rich, throaty sonic manipulation--was seasoned through a dozen years of big band training beginning in the late '30s with Nat Towles, continuing in the excellent Horace Henderson organization and reaching a nirvana by 1942 when trumpeter Cootie Williams attempted to create his own big band. Dorsey went with the goofy Calloway in the mid '40s and contributes to many of the bandleader's most entertaining recordings, often creating swing through a clever twist of melody rather than forcing the issue. There is also a Dorsey presence in the discography of singer Billie Holiday, while listeners who want to hear him at his most honking should navigate their boats toward an Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson retrospective entitled Primary Cuts, Volume One. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide