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Dexter Gordon
Albums
Along with Gene Ammons and Stanley Turrentine, Dexter Gordon was one of the top ballad players of the '60s. Having already made his name in the bebop era and as an expatriate in Europe, [more]
- List Price: $16.99
- Member Price: $11.98
From the first moments when Dexter Gordon sails into the opening song full of brightness and confidence, it is obvious that Go! is going to be one of those albums where everything just seems to [more]
- List Price: $17.98
- Member Price: $11.98
This 1963 date is titled for Dexter Gordon's living in self-imposed Parisian exile and recording there with two other exptriates and a French native. Along with Gordon, pianist Bud [more]
- List Price: $17.98
- Member Price: $11.98
2002 saw the release of a pair of DVDs under the title of Cool Summer -- one which featured performances from Dexter Gordon and McCoy Tyner, while the other included [more]
- Member Price: $24.98
![One Flight Up [Bonus Track]](/cache/JS/g4/130x130_g42846tpcmi.jpg)
When he expatriated to Scandinavia just before this session in Paris was recorded, Dexter Gordon said he was liberated in many ways, as a jazz musician and as a human [more]
- Member Price: $11.98
During a period of Dexter Gordon's (tenor sax) life -- when he was deep in the throws of chronic drug addiction -- the artist was miraculously able to reignite his career [more]
- List Price: $51.98
- Member Price: $46.78
Unlike many other American expatriates living in Europe, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon always managed to play and record with the top musicians while [more]
- Member Price: $11.98
Little was heard of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon on-record during the 1950s; in fact this somewhat obscure LP (@Savoy, in one of their reissue programs, also released [more]
- List Price: $19.98
- Member Price: $17.98
Dexter Gordon's second recording for the Blue Note label is a solidly swinging affair, yet constantly full of surprises. It's not unexpected that Gordon's tenor at this time -- 1961 [more]
- List Price: $28.98
- Member Price: $26.08
Appearances
Herbie Hancock's debut as a leader, Takin' Off, revealed a composer and pianist able to balance sophistication and accessibility, somewhat in the vein of Blue Note's prototype hard [more]
- List Price: $17.98
- Member Price: $11.98
...Compositionally, these alblums are outstanding...the result is a well-produced and very complete survey of Herbie Hancock's early maturity. -The Wire (02/99, p.51)
From the start of his solo recording career in 1962, when he was 22, Herbie Hancock was a very original pianist/composer. Strangely enough, despite the [more]
- Member Price: $105.98
A swinging, accessibly straightforward collection of Christmas tunes arranged for jazz orchestras and small combos alike, Jingle Bell Jam: Jazz Christmas [more]
- List Price: $17.98
- Member Price: $11.98
![Jazz Christmas [Music Masters]](/cache/JS/c5/130x130_on-sale_c51060xo75w.png)
Although it's hardly a standout holiday record, Jazz Christmas is an entertaining collection of classic Christmas albums performed in a lightly swinging, soul-jazz style. ~ Leo Stanley, All Music Guide
- List Price: $16.99
- Member Price: $11.98
This CD has ten performances of Christmas songs from 1990 plus a few earlier recordings (Chet Baker's "Winter Wonderland," Count Basie's "Jingle Bells," Dexter Gordon's "Have [more]
- List Price: $16.99
- Member Price: $11.98
In jazz, ballads have a way of separating the men from the boys and the women from the girls. They show what an improviser is made of emotionally. On ballads, [more]
- List Price: $71.96
- Member Price: $47.92
Along with Gene Ammons and Stanley Turrentine, Dexter Gordon was one of the top ballad players of the '60s. Having already made his name in the bebop era and as an expatriate in Europe, [more]
- List Price: $16.99
- Member Price: $11.98
From the first moments when Dexter Gordon sails into the opening song full of brightness and confidence, it is obvious that Go! is going to be one of those albums where everything just seems to [more]
- List Price: $17.98
- Member Price: $11.98
This 1963 date is titled for Dexter Gordon's living in self-imposed Parisian exile and recording there with two other exptriates and a French native. Along with Gordon, pianist Bud [more]
- List Price: $17.98
- Member Price: $11.98
The Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever may boast a silly title, but it's hard to argue with what's on this double-disc sampler. Not all of the label's [more]
- List Price: $33.98
- Member Price: $23.96
Biography
- Born Feb 27th 1923 in Los Angeles, CA
- Died Apr 25th 1990 in Philadelphia, PA
Dexter Gordon had such a colorful and eventful life (with three separate comebacks) that his story would make a great Hollywood movie. The top tenor saxophonist to emerge during the bop era and possessor of his own distinctive sound, Gordon sometimes was long-winded and quoted excessively from other songs, but he created a large body of superior work and could battle nearly anyone successfully at a jam session. His first important gig was with Lionel Hampton (1940-1943) although, due to Illinois Jacquet also being in the sax section, Gordon did not get any solos. In 1943, he did get to stretch out on a recording session with Nat King Cole. Short stints with Lee Young, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, and Louis Armstrong's big band preceded his move to New York in December 1944 and becoming part of Billy Eckstine's Orchestra, trading off with Gene Ammons on Eckstine's recording of "Blowin' the Blues Away." Gordon recorded with Dizzy Gillespie ("Blue 'N' Boogie") and as a leader for Savoy before returning to Los Angeles in the summer of 1946. He was a major part of the Central Avenue scene, trading off with Wardell Gray and Teddy Edwards in many legendary tenor battles; studio recordings of "The Chase" and "The Duel" helped to document the atmosphere of the period.
After 1952, drug problems resulted in some jail time and periods of inactivity during the '50s (although Gordon did record two albums in 1955). By 1960, he was recovered and soon he was recording a consistently rewarding series of dates for Blue Note. Just when he was regaining his former popularity, in 1962 Gordon moved to Europe where he would stay until 1976. While on the continent, he was in peak form and Gordon's many SteepleChase recordings rank with the finest work of his career. Gordon did return to the U.S. on an occasional basis, recording in 1965, 1969-1970, and 1972, but he was to an extent forgotten in his native land. It was therefore a major surprise that his return in 1976 was treated as a major media event. A great deal of interest was suddenly shown in the living legend with long lines of people waiting at clubs in order to see him. Gordon was signed to Columbia and remained a popular figure until his gradually worsening health made him semi-active by the early '80s. His third comeback occurred when he was picked to star in the motion picture {#'Round Midnight}. Gordon's acting was quite realistic and touching. He was nominated for an Academy Award, four years before his death after a very full life. Most of Dexter Gordon's recordings for Savoy, Dial, Bethlehem, Dootone, Jazzland, Blue Note, SteepleChase, Black Lion, Prestige, Columbia, Who's Who, Chiaroscuro, and Elektra Musician are currently available. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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