When tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon left the U.S. in August 1962 for an extended stay in Europe, he wasn't disenchanted with the New York scene or the shift in popular music tastes.
"Dexter left for Europe because Ronnie Scott had invited him to perform at his club in London," Maxine Gordon said yesterday. "When he got there, he was invited to Copenhagen and to Paris, and when he looked up, it was 14 years later. He was not the type to be fed up with anything. He was the eternal optimist."
The move abroad was a remarkably easy one for Gordon, since he hadn't really lived in America emotionally for many years. While he made his mark in the 1940s in Lionel Hampton and Billy Eckstine's bands and with Wardell Gray in Los Angeles, Gordon was absent for critical stretches in the 1950s as a result of jail terms for heroin possession.
By 1962, Gordon's bop style no longer was cutting edge. Spiritual, free-form saxophonists like John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman were dominant players and at the forefront of a new style. In London, Paris and Copenhagen, Gordon was revered for his lanky good looks, suave manner and heated playing style. In Europe, bebop was still exciting, especially in the hands of someone of Gordon's stature and stamina.
As Gordon told Down Beat in 1972...
"For me, [the move to Europe] has been very good because my whole lifestyle is much calmer, much more relaxed. I can devote more time to music, and I think it is beginning to show. It's not that everyday scuffle, and I'm able to concentrate more on studying.
"Of course, the music scene is more competitive in the States. I think it would be very easy for an American jazz musician to come over here and just relax and play by rote; so to speak, but I think that's very rare, 'cause, you know, if a man is a musician he is interested in music and he is going to play as much and study as much as possible."
But by 1976, Gordon was homesick but somewhat apprehensive about returning to the U.S. As Maxine, Gordon's widow, continued:
"Dexter wanted to return to the States and have his own band. When we met, I was the road manager for his agent, and we agreed to work together on the prospect. When Dexter returned, he was warmly received and formed his dream band—George Cables, Rufus Reid, and Eddie Gladden. He financed our office and we worked on his return for six months before he arrived."
Rebooting his career seemed as though it might be daunting. Popular music in 1976 was driven by rock, soul and disco, and jazz artists —particularly saxophonists and trumpeters—no longer were jazz stars. They had been replaced by electric guitarists and electronic keyboard players. Acoustic jazz forms such as bebop were on the ropes, widely considered a dated form that younger fans found formulaic and dull.
But whatever trepidations Gordon might have felt, they dissolved once he played Manhattan's Storyville, a short-lived club on E. 58th St., and the Village Vanguard in December 1976. Audiences were thunderstruck. Many older jazz listeners who found jazz-rock fusion a bore had been yearning for more straight-up jazz and were highly receptive.
What followed Gordon's Vanguard appearance was remarkable. Between 1976 and 1980, the saxophonist recorded five polished albums for Columbia that never lost their originality. As a result, these recordings gave him and bebop an enormous lift, not to mention acoustic jazz in general.
Gordon's starring role in Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight in 1986 also raised his visibility. His performance seemed autobiographical, allowing him to express through acting and playing his own expatriate frustration with jazz's treatment and lack of recognition in the U.S.
Recently, Sony packaged all of Gordon's recordings for Columbia in a single box, featuring six CDs—five albums plus a disc of bonus material. The five albums are Homecoming (1976), Sophisticated Giant (1977), Manhattan Symphonie (1978), Live at Carnegie Hall (1978) and Gotham City (1980).
As Michael Cuscuna recalls in the box's liner notes...
"One hurdle was Dexter satisfying his contract with Steeplechase Records in Copenhagen before he could sign with Columbia. On Friday, December 11, 1976, Dexter Gordon and I were sitting in the business affairs department at Columbia waiting for a last-minute green light to proceed while the rest of the quintet and engineer Malcolm Addey were getting set up at the Village Vanguard. We didn't get the nod until about 7:30 p.m. and hopped into a cab to head down to the Vanguard with very little time to spare."
Listening to these albums now, you realize immediately how timeless these recordings are. You also will find forgotten favorites like Laura on Sophisticated Giant, Moment's Notice on Manhattan Symphonie, End of a Love Affair on Live at Carnegie Hall and The Blues Walk on Gotham City.
There's also a stunning Polka Dots and Moonbeams on the bonus CD that was recorded in Cuba. First, Gordon records the song in full. After audience applause, Stan Getz steps up and records the same song. A fascinating contrast of superb styles. There's even an alternate, roaring version of Woody Shaw's The Moontrane and a playfully quixotic version of Gordon playing Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely with strings, which was released in '77 as a single.
What the Columbia box illustrates is that even in his later years (Gordon would die in 1990), Gordon towered over many of his peers. His ability to give bebop a new lfe at a time of great upheaval in the music industry remains remarkable.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Dexter Gordon: The Complete Columbia Albums Collection at Sony's Popmarket.com. The CDs come in miniature LP jackets.
JazzWax note: A special thanks to Maxine Gordon and Woody Shaw III, who co-produced the new box with Michael Cuscuna. For more on Dexter Gordon, visit DexterGordon.com, which features clips, videos and more.
JazzWax clip: Here's Dexter Gordon playing Laura...
Thanks for this recommendation, Marc. And to you too, Ian. I'm a big fan of Woody Shaw, of Dexter anyway. I think Dex never ever played anything superficial, or did he?
My favorite (besides "A Swingin' Affair") is "Our Man In Paris". What he plays there at "A Night In Tunisia" is simply incredible:
All that sound, so big, so strong, and so relentlessly swinging behind the beat.
No one else on any instrument could handle such slow tempos like Dexter at the above "Laura".
the problem is that Dexter, a fine player, was never in the first rank of saxophonists; his solos were always competent but rather routine, and late in life one can tell that he's perpetually stoned. This is a clear instance of image triumphing over substance.
Have to agree with Allen - in much of Dexter's Steeplechase output he is usually nothing BUT superficial. Only occasionally is there a flash of innovation.
The little known 'Bouncin' with Dex' has always been one of my favorite albums. He's bursting with ideas, his sound and the recording quality are first rate. He was at the top of his game!
To Alan Lowe and Sal Gatrione, above: please leave the room.
(I must say, I dote very particularly on many of the SteepleChase LPs).
(And, as for this idea of "a flash of innovation": I can't think of a more redundant criteria. Quite a meaningless thought you've articulated).
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeshhh, you guys..........man! What awful squares...
And, further, to Allen Lowe: Dexter IS THE FRONT RANK SAXOPHONE. It's him. For influence, he's the most profound (and I have the personal conviction that Coltrane and Rollins are his lessers. That's my own contention).
Red, thanks; you've taken the words right of my mouth.
The topic wasn't Dexter's IMHO overall great and mostly 'live' recordings for Steeplechase anyway, with the likes of Tete Montoliu, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Barry Harris, or Arthur Taylor.
Following Marc's recommendations, and since I'm a die-hard vinylist, I have ordered three of the above mentioned of LTD's CBS LP's (!) from my favorite seller:
"Manhattan Symphonie", "Sophisticated Giant", and "Homecoming".
Though I don't think that the Colossus & Trane are "his lessers", Dexter rules.
He is a genuine stylist, coming from Lester Young, Ben Webster & Don Byas, mixed with Bird's phraseology.
His style was always "cool bop" to me, because he blows so relaxed, so laid back, that it tears me apart when he is playing together with other horns.
It's always great fun to listen to him, because he has humor too. All those quotes, those choices of titles like "Cheese Cake" or "Soy Califa", "Dexter Rides Again", "Dextrose" etc. -- Big smile here.
The very first video alone, posted by "desax", well, *that* is what I would call Grandezza. -- He *was* a great man, and he was one of his kind; and I'm very sad that I have never seen & heard him 'live'.
Well, Red Sullivan and Brew certainly squash the idea that jazz fans are open minded. If someone doesn't agree with you, shouting louder probably won't change their mind.
Your opinion is just that: your opinion. Is it so hard to let others have theirs?
...well, I'd be genuinely curious to see who Allen Lowe would list in "the front rank of saxophonists" if not Dexter. That's all I'm saying (although I am saying it highly rhetoricaly).
(PS.: I've never had an "open mind" when it comes to Dexter, nor should I).
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Marc Myers writes frequently on music and the arts for the Wall Street Journal. He is author of "Why Jazz Happened" (University of California Press). In 2012, JazzWax was named the Jazz Journalists Association's "Blog of the Year."
I know this post is about Dexter, but let me just say that Woody Shaw on "Homecoming" is some of the most trumpet anybody ever played.
Posted by: Ian Carey | December 15, 2011 at 02:02 AM
Thanks for this recommendation, Marc. And to you too, Ian. I'm a big fan of Woody Shaw, of Dexter anyway. I think Dex never ever played anything superficial, or did he?
My favorite (besides "A Swingin' Affair") is "Our Man In Paris". What he plays there at "A Night In Tunisia" is simply incredible:
All that sound, so big, so strong, and so relentlessly swinging behind the beat.
No one else on any instrument could handle such slow tempos like Dexter at the above "Laura".
Posted by: Brew | December 15, 2011 at 07:49 AM
What a pleasant surprise - I listened to Gotham City twice yesterday, and was greeted by the album cover at my daily visit to Jazzwax.
All respect to Dex, but as Ian points out, Woody Shaw is amazing. And the presence of George Benson is ... interesting.
Cheers
Posted by: Ahmed Bousanjani | December 15, 2011 at 09:42 AM
the problem is that Dexter, a fine player, was never in the first rank of saxophonists; his solos were always competent but rather routine, and late in life one can tell that he's perpetually stoned. This is a clear instance of image triumphing over substance.
Posted by: Allen Lowe | December 15, 2011 at 11:12 AM
It's my understanding that Maxine Gordon is writing a biography on Dexter. I hope this is true. Fans of "LTD" are anxiously awaiting it.
Posted by: Doug Zielke | December 15, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Have to agree with Allen - in much of Dexter's Steeplechase output he is usually nothing BUT superficial. Only occasionally is there a flash of innovation.
Posted by: Sal Gatrione | December 15, 2011 at 12:44 PM
The little known 'Bouncin' with Dex' has always been one of my favorite albums. He's bursting with ideas, his sound and the recording quality are first rate. He was at the top of his game!
Posted by: Don | December 15, 2011 at 08:18 PM
To everyone with negative comments, check these out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrvWtdBOQW8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtuFaEzHJpM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xGPHseCQrI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NO3MN-1XJY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QbyBMaMbX4
Posted by: dexsax | December 15, 2011 at 10:23 PM
To Alan Lowe and Sal Gatrione, above: please leave the room.
(I must say, I dote very particularly on many of the SteepleChase LPs).
(And, as for this idea of "a flash of innovation": I can't think of a more redundant criteria. Quite a meaningless thought you've articulated).
Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeshhh, you guys..........man! What awful squares...
Posted by: Red Sullivan | December 16, 2011 at 12:51 AM
And, further, to Allen Lowe: Dexter IS THE FRONT RANK SAXOPHONE. It's him. For influence, he's the most profound (and I have the personal conviction that Coltrane and Rollins are his lessers. That's my own contention).
Posted by: Red Sullivan | December 16, 2011 at 12:54 AM
Red, thanks; you've taken the words right of my mouth.
The topic wasn't Dexter's IMHO overall great and mostly 'live' recordings for Steeplechase anyway, with the likes of Tete Montoliu, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Barry Harris, or Arthur Taylor.
Following Marc's recommendations, and since I'm a die-hard vinylist, I have ordered three of the above mentioned of LTD's CBS LP's (!) from my favorite seller:
"Manhattan Symphonie", "Sophisticated Giant", and "Homecoming".
Though I don't think that the Colossus & Trane are "his lessers", Dexter rules.
He is a genuine stylist, coming from Lester Young, Ben Webster & Don Byas, mixed with Bird's phraseology.
His style was always "cool bop" to me, because he blows so relaxed, so laid back, that it tears me apart when he is playing together with other horns.
It's always great fun to listen to him, because he has humor too. All those quotes, those choices of titles like "Cheese Cake" or "Soy Califa", "Dexter Rides Again", "Dextrose" etc. -- Big smile here.
The very first video alone, posted by "desax", well, *that* is what I would call Grandezza. -- He *was* a great man, and he was one of his kind; and I'm very sad that I have never seen & heard him 'live'.
Long live long "Long Tall" Dexter Gordon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ5X6TB6pEo
Posted by: Brew | December 16, 2011 at 07:36 AM
Well, Red Sullivan and Brew certainly squash the idea that jazz fans are open minded. If someone doesn't agree with you, shouting louder probably won't change their mind.
Your opinion is just that: your opinion. Is it so hard to let others have theirs?
Posted by: Omar Ridder | December 16, 2011 at 09:35 AM
No one played like Dex.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ2e-SHg7S0&feature=related
Posted by: dgjazz | December 16, 2011 at 02:30 PM
...well, I'd be genuinely curious to see who Allen Lowe would list in "the front rank of saxophonists" if not Dexter. That's all I'm saying (although I am saying it highly rhetoricaly).
(PS.: I've never had an "open mind" when it comes to Dexter, nor should I).
Posted by: Red Sullivan | December 21, 2011 at 09:30 AM