The Bebop Shop : Now's The Time: Bud, Bird & Bebop : Dexter Gordon
The 55 tracks on this set span the period 1943-1950 and feature the immense talents of Dexter himself as well as such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Ben Webster, Billy Eckstine and Barney Kessel. The 44 pages in the booklet are crammed with rare photos, track information and the story of one of the true giants of jazz. (Proper Records)
Price: £15.49
Dexter Gordon (1923-1990) was one of the very first bebop tenor saxophonists. By the time he was fifteen, he had already played in bands with Chico Hamilton and Buddy Collette ! He was a member of the Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong orchestras in the early forties, joined the Billy Eckstine band and recorded with Charlie Parker in 1945.
Dexter returned to Los Angeles in 1948, and went on to record with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach, Benny Carter, Art Blakey, Fats Navarro, J.J. Johnson, Tadd Dameron, Jimmy Giuffre, and Kenny Clarke, to name just a few. He also began his famous recordings with Wardell Gray.
Dexter Gordon, tenor sax, and Leroy Vinnegar, bass, on all tracks - plus: Carl Perkins, piano; Chuck Thompson, drums; Jimmy Robinson, trumpet (on 3 tracks) - Hollywood, California, November 11 &12, 1955. Bonus tracks: Kenny Drew (p), Lawrence Marable (d). Hollywood, California, September 18, 1955. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
Added, as a bonus, are six out of the seven tunes from an interesting session recorded five years earlier (Dexter doesn’t play a solo on the missing tune). It presents exactly the same instrumentation of tenor sax, trombone, trumpet and rhythm section, and features such stars as Frank Rosolino and Conte Candoli.
Personnel : Dexter Gordon, tenor sax, on all tracks, with : Richard Boone, trombone; Martin Banks, trumpet; Dolo Coker, piano; Charles Green, bass; Lawrence Marable, drums - Los Angeles, October 13, 1960. On bonus tracks : Frank Rosolino (tb), Conte Candoli (tp), Lou Levy (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b), Stan Levey (d) - Los Angeles, September 27 & 28, 1955. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
The rhythm section features Bud Powell (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), and Kenny Clarke (drums), a trio that had been playing together for four years before this record date. And, between Gordon's high-octane improvisation that falls between Bop and Swing, Powell's melodic intensity, Clarke's clever accentuation, and Michelot's flawless harmonic support, this album both cooks and simmers with stellar improvisation and interaction: Jazz at its Best.' (Album Leaves, the BIRDpages Record Review)
A BEBOP SHOP MILESTONE- An essential recording for your jazz CD shelf Price: £8.99
Nice compilation of the softer side of Gordon's albums for Blue Note, including gorgeous versions of songs associated with Billie Holiday- an aching You've Changed and I'm A Fool To Want You. I'd urge you to buy the original albums but this is a great sampler for the beginner. Price: £8.99
The range of styles displayed moves from somewhat funky tunes like Horace Silver's “Psychedelic Sally” or Goykovich's own “What Kind of Blues” to classic jazz compositions by Duke Ellington and Luis Russell, more in the classic swing orchestra tradition. (Discovery Records) Price: £16.99
Dexter Gordon & Al Cohn, tenor saxophones; Blue Mitchell & Sam Noto, trumpets; Barry Harris, piano; Sam Jones, bass; and Louis Hayes, drums. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
Personnel : Dexter Gordon, tenor sax; Woody Shaw, trumpet; Ronnie Mathews, piano; Stafford James, bass; Louis Hayes, drums - Live at the Village Gate, New York, October 25, 1976. On bonus track : Dexter Gordon (ts), Woody Shaw (tp), Milt Jackson (vib), Kirk Lightsey (p), David Eubanks (b), Eddie Gladden (d) - “Playboy Jazz Festival”, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, June 20, 1982. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
