"Even his walk is bebop" ~Bernard Tavernier, director of Round Midnight

"The 6 foot 5 gentle giant of a man was also the personification of urbane wit and sophistication." ~Bruce Lundvall

When one thinks of the progenitors of bebop, one typically thinks of artists including alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, and drummer Max Roach. Notably absent is a tenor player in that list, and there is no doubt that the man who defined bebop on the bigger horn was one Dexter Keith Gordon, who, emerging in the '40s from under the shadow of Lester Young, Jimmy Dorsey, Coleman Hawkins and the lesser-known Dick Wilson, went on to not only become the premier representative of the tenor in bebop, but demonstrated a remarkable penchant to continue evolving within the genre. He may have initially influenced younger players including Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, but when they became innovators in their own right Dexter took back as much as he gave, his style growing constantly until his death in '90 at the all-too-young age of 67.

But Gordon left a huge recorded legacy, including some classic sides for Blue Note, Columbia, Steeplechase and Prestige. With the release of The Complete Prestige Recordings , a whopping 11-disc set which include sessions pre-and-post-dating his time with Blue Note in the '60s, one can hear the growth in Gordon's style even as his consistency and distinctive voice remain intact. With 88 tracks, including 16 previously unissued takes, this is a treasure trove of Gordon and, for that matter, bebop at the highest level.

Beginning with a tenor duel with Wardell Gray from Wardell Gray Memorial, Vol. 2 , a '50 session that finds Gordon in the fine company of trumpeter Clark Terry and alto saxophonist Sonny Criss, "Move" demonstrates that by the age of 27 Gordon had already established what would be the defining characteristics of his style: a relaxed, behind-the-beat approach that made the body move unconsciously; a dry wit that was manifested by liberal quoting, in his solos, of material from popular songs and jazz standards of the day; a warm and robust tone that was bold and deep at the bottom and rich and full at the top; and an uncanny ability to navigate the complex chord changes of bebop and run a melody through them like a thread through a needle.

Like many of his peers, Gordon struggled with drug abuse and, indeed, spent much of the '50s incarcerated. So when he re-emerged (one of many times he would do so) on parole in '60, he was quickly brought back to the studio for the album The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon , an album that featured a number of West Coast player (where Gordon was residing) including drummer Larance Marable, who continues to work to this day as a member of bassist Charlie Haden's Noir-ish Quartet West. But the order of the day for this session was bebop, and in the context of a sextet, an unusually large ensemble for Gordon, he proved that not only was he back, but that the time spent in prison had not gone to waste. Clean and confident, the six tracks from this album have Gordon in fine form, sharing the solo space equally with the rest of the ensemble that also includes trumpeter Martin Banks, trombonist Richard Boone, pianist Dolo Coker and bassist Charlie Green. On the mid-tempo swinger "Lovely Lisa" his phrasing is so laid back that one almost has to catch one's balance. But by being so egalitarian, Gordon's solos are shorter than usual, although they still demonstrate the distinctive characteristics that make The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon a true event.

Such an event, in fact, that shortly after the album was released Gordon was signed to Blue Note, where he recorded a number of records between '61 and '65 including Dexter Calling and Go , albums that placed him squarely and rightly in the public eye again. In late '62 Gordon turned a gig at London's Ronnie Scott's into a two year European stay that resulted in additional Blue Note recordings, including the classic Our Man in Paris. Ultimately relocating to Copenhagen, where he would live until '76, Gordon worked regularly around Scandinavia and continental Europe.