CD/LP/Track Review
Dexter Gordon: LTD: Live At the Left Bank
C. Michael Bailey
...wants to know if Gene Harris is playing "Summertime" in Heaven...
Long Tall Dexter in Baltimore, circa 1969.
The most telling thing about this disc is a political one. Inside the liner notes, in small print, are the words. "Special Thanks to Joel Dorn." Indeed, special thanks. Dorn has based his new company, LabelM, on about 300 performances he negotiated away from Baltimore's Left Bank Jazz Society that constitute his Live at the Left Bank series. It's likely that this all resulted from a quid pro quo between Dorn and Fantasy for, among others, LabelM's superb survey of tenor-organ classics Have You Had Your B-3 Today? (LabelM, 2001), that was derived primarily from the Fantasy Archives. Having said all of that, the music is classic Gordon, even if the fidelity is a bit foggy.
Recorded in the spring of 1969, LTD: Live At the Left Bank, consists of expatriate Gordon performing four tunes with a New York City pick up band that spots the great pianist Bobby Timmons. The performances are all lengthy, save Duke Ellington's "In A Sentimental Mood," that clocks in at a mere 8:41. Gordon and Timmons are the stars here, working very well together, for the most part. Gordon opens with a reprise of "Broadway," which he originally recorded on Our Man In Paris (Blue Note, 1963). While Gordon stretches out, Timmons seeks to hit his stride, which he does, on Gordon's "Boston Bernie." They both scream (after a fashion) on the closer, "Blues Up and Down," a perfect soul-jazz/hard bop delight. There can never be too much Dexter Gordon or Bobby Timmons, noo matter where they come from.
Track Listing: Broadway; Boston Bernie; In a Sentimental Mood; Blues Up and Down.
Personnel: Dexter Gordon: tenor saxophone; Bobby Timmons: piano; Victor Gastin: bass; Percy Brice: drums.
Record Label: Prestige Records | Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Dexter Gordon Profile | Follow Dexter Gordon Also at
Post your comment on Dexter Gordon's LTD: Live At the Left Bank.
Bert Bailey wrote on 2009-03-25 11:34:25 [ REPORT ]The "...great tenorist Bobby Timmons"? I don't think so. How about keyboardist? ...pianist?
More to the point, this very brief review doesn't give much of a sense of the CD -- beyond a liking for Long Tall Dex and Mr Timmons. Well, roger to that. Which is to say: not very insightful, in my books.
'Be good to hear how it compares to other CDs, especially of live recordings, or of Dexter in the late 60s, or with pickup groups vs. his usual quartets, etc.
John Kelman wrote on 2009-03-26 08:52:27 [ REPORT ]Thanks for writing in Bert. Just to note: this review was published in 2001, on the cusp of AAJ introducing its Submission and Editorial Guidelines, which hopefully prevent the kind of error (tenorist Timmons? Obviously an oversight from our longstanding and very fine writer, C. Michael Bailey), and also from a time where shorter, capsule reviews were the norm as opposed to the more detailed reviews we (including CMB) publish today.
I've fixed the mistake - and also added the cover art. I can't ask a contributor to revisit an 8 yr-old review and flesh it out more, so it is what it is.
That said, we'd love to see you contribute again; there were some initial teething pains, as per those guidelines, but if you'd like to come back to do some writing, please do. You can reach me at jkelman@allaboutjazz.com. Sorry for being out of touch (since you live in Ottawa also), but life is settling down, so that coffee may well be a nice idea sometime soon. Shoot me an email...also, I hope you're looking at this years's jazz festival - one of the best line-ups ever, in my opinion.
Anyway, thanks again for the catch, and best wishes,
John
