CD1
Dexter Blows Hot And Cool
1. Silver Plated
2. Cry Me A River
3. Rhythm Mad
4. Don’t Worry About Me
5. I Hear Music
6. Bonna Rua
7. I Should Care
8. Blowin’ For Dootsie
9. Tenderly
Dexter Gordon - Tenor sax
Carl Perkins - Piano
Leroy Vinnegar - Bass
Chuck Thompson - Drums
Jimmy Robinson - Trumpet (tracks 1, 3, 6 )
The Resurgence Of Dexter Gordon
10. Home Run
11. Dolo
12. Lovely Lisa
13. Affair In Havana
14. Jodi
15. Field Day
Dexter Gordon - Tenor sax
Martin Banks - Trumpet
Richard Boone - Trombone
Charles “Dolo” Coker - Piano
Charles Green - Bass
Lawrence Marable - Drums
CD2
Daddy Plays The Horn
1. Daddy Plays The Horn
2. Confirmation
3. Darn That Dream
4. Number Four
5. Autumn In New York
6. You Can Depend On Me
Dexter Gordon - Tenor sax
Kenny Drew - Piano
Leroy Vinnegar - Bass
Lawrence Marable - Drums
This Time The Drum’s On Me
7. Diggin’ For Diz
8. Ruby My Dear
9. Tune Up
10. Day In, Day Out
11. Stanley The Steamer
12. This Time The Drum’s On Me
Stan Levey - Drums
Conte Candoli - Trumpet
Dexter Gordon - Tenor sax
Frank Rosolino - Trombone
Leroy Vinnegar - Bass
Lou Levy - Piano
As World War II was coming to an end in 1944-45, the West Coast of the United States and particularly Los Angeles, became a crucible for the nascent bebop
movement, particularly the area around Central Avenue in that city. One of the key figures in that development was tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon who,
along with another singular musician Wardell Gray, teamed up for concerts and recordings that energized listeners and gave a solid foundation to the genre.
There is an excellent book by Ted Gioia entitled West Coast Jazz - Modern Jazz In California 1945-1960 which offers many details of the people,
places, and music that thrived in this area over this time-frame.
The period covered by these recordings is 1955, in order of which they were recorded to whit, Daddy Plays The Horn, This Time The Drum’s On Me, plus Dexter Blows Hot And Cool. The other recording, The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon, is from 1960.
During the five-year gap between these dates, Gordon did not record anything under his own name, as he was dealing with a drug problem that interfered with
his ability to play, and which did cause him to be incarcerated again for a few months during this period for a parole violation.
It is unfortunate that Avid decided to split up the 1955 sessions between the two discs, rather than make them consecutive which would have been far more
sensible. However that does not prevent this review from dealing with them in that more logical manner. The Dexter Gordon of the first three above
referenced albums was in relatively good performance form as he had spent almost two years in prison for heroin possession starting towards the end of
1952, and hence he may have been clean. The first album was a quartet session with the redoubtable Kenny Drew on piano which contributed to the overall
effectiveness of the date. Gordon blew with strength and conviction, starting with Daddy Plays The Horn followed by a strongly layered effort on
the Charlie Parker opus Confirmation with Drew drawing on his bop chops throughout. The balance of the album is equally engaging with Gordon
swinging on his own tune Number Four and stylishly expressive on Autumn In New York.
The next release was not Gordon’s at all, but drummer Stan Levey's second album for Bethlehem. According to the liner notes, Gordon was a late addition to
the session, as it already had a frontline of Conte Candoli on trumpet and Frank Rosolino on trombone. That is not to say that Gordon was not a welcome
presence because he was, and the result was a real bop infused swinger. While most of the solo space is taken up by Candoli and Rosolino, when given a
chance Gordon takes full advantage of the opportunity, starting with the opener Diggin’ For Diz . After Candoli does a dazzling lead, Gordon comes
on to pick up the thread with an unrestrained compatibility. With his confident and full-bodied tone, Gordon does some of his best work on his own
blues-line composition Stanley The Steamer. Although this session is more tightly scripted than the previous quartet album, it nevertheless
confirms that Gordon was in full command of his instrument.
The final 1955 recording is primarily a quartet outing, but on three tracks trumpeter Jimmy Robinson joined the group. Robinson was a young little-known
player at the time of this session. Although bop-oriented, he had a somewhat thin tone and his contribution was rather limited. Of greater significance was
the inclusion of pianist Carl Perkins, whose single-note bop-driven style, meshed with what Gordon was trying to do. The set list was designed to
complement Gordon’s strengths, and was a mixture of up-tempo numbers that were principally “head” arrangements in blues form, and standard ballads. For the
most part, the recording produced fine music, with Gordon’s own compositions such as Silver Plated, Rhythm Dad and Blowin’ For Dootsie
especially good. For most bop enthusiasts, there may have been too many ballads offered, but I Should Care, is worth pointing out.
The 1960 album was entitled The Resurgence Of Dexter but the appropriate word might have been Resurrection instead of Resurgence. For all intents and purposes, Gordon’s musical career was dead for five years after 1955. It was only at the insistence of Cannonball
Adderley, who agreed to produce the album, that Gordon had a chance to go back into the studio. Although the label Jazzland was a small independent entity,
and the sidemen for the session apart from drummer Lawrence Marable were mostly unheralded, the results were remarkably good. Of the six tracks laid down,
two were Gordon originals, with the balance coming from pianist Coker. Although Gordon had done next to nothing musically for the previous five years, his
skills had not diminished to any noticeable degree. On Dolo, one of Coker’s tunes, Gordon rips though the piece with a fierceness that belies any
diminution in his skill. Affair In Havana is a pleasant change of pace as Coker has penned a Latin-themed composition that gives Gordon all the
challenge he needs to demonstrate his virtuosity. In terms of Gordon’s own tunes, Jodi is a well-thought-out ballad that opens with pianist Coker
delving into some Red Garland-like block chords that Gordon follows with a long solo that shows his usual command and expressiveness.
Ted Gioia in his previously referenced book, offers the following quotation about Dexter Gordon that sums up quite nicely these sessions: “Gordon developed
one of the first great modern tenor sax styles…a persuasive and immediately recognizable sound all his own.”
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Avid AMSC 1138
