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Maxine Gordon on Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was a remarkable tenor saxophonist. A towering, dashing figure with an embracing smile and a wry sense of humor, Gordon was a powerful player whose bebop approach was equally assertive and romantic. [Photo above of Maxine Gordon by Fiona Ross, courtesy of Maxine Gordon] A bebop star in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, ...
Blue Note Review 2: Spirit & Time and More
by Marc Cohn
Lots of cool features this week. First, Side 2 of the new-music LP from 2nd limited-edition Blue Note Review box with drummers Tony Allen and Chris Dave reimagining Tony Williams compositions. Then, a deep dive into the Savoy vaults from 1947 with recreations of 78s by Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro and Dexter Gordon. Celebrating Sonny Rollins ...
Don Cherry: Cherry Jam
by Karl Ackermann
In the same year that composer/multi-instrumentalist Don Cherry recorded his milestone Complete Communion (Blue Note, 1966) he took his cornet to the studio of Danish National Radio. Cherry had established himself by the early 1960s, playing with Steve Lacy, Ornette Coleman, Paul Bley, John Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler and Ed Blackwell. Copenhagen began ...
Videos: Dexter Gordon
Yesterday I found myself listening to quite a bit of Dexter Gordon's Blue Note recordings in the 1960s. The cutting edge of his tenor saxophone and mournful quality of his blues sounded just right for the housebound. Here are four videos plus a bonus: Here's Dexter Gordon playing Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird in Belgium in 1964, ...
Two Twin-Tenor Duos
by Jerome Wilson
The idea of two tenor saxophonists playing together has a long, storied history in jazz through pairings like Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, and Zoot Sims and Al Cohn. Such duos have become harder to find in recent years but here are two newer examples. Jeff Rupert / ...
The New York All-Stars: Live Encounter
by Chris May
Some things live forever and take-no-quarter hard bop is one of them... If you time travelled back to New York City circa 1958 and wandered into the Half Note or Five Spot, Live Encounter contains the sort of music you might have heard. Tough, emotionally-rich jazz with no-fuss head arrangements, extrovert horn solos and a propulsive ...
Record Store Day 2020
by Kyle Simpler
Twice a year, I find myself in a long line before sunrise waiting for my local record store to open. It might be rainy or cold, but I'm always there along with a large group of other people waiting patiently. Why do we do it? Simply because it's Record Store Day, and for many record collectors, ...
The John Coltrane Home in Philadelphia: The Fight to Preserve an Historic Landmark
by Victor L. Schermer
John Coltrane (1926-1967) was in the upper echelon of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. He, along with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, and other innovators, changed the face of jazz forever. Beyond such encomiums, Coltrane has become a great African American hero, overcoming his heroin addiction, experiencing a spiritual ...
The Hall Overton Centennial & More
by Marc Cohn
February birthdays on Gift & Messages with the Hall Overton centennial. We feature his arrangement of “Little Rootie Tootie" for the Thelonious Monk Orchestra, where Hall takes the piano solo from the Monk's first trio recording and orchestrates it for the entire big band! You'll hear both back-to-back. Stunning, for the arrangement and the playing, is ...
About Dexter Gordon
Results for pages tagged "Dexter Gordon"...
Dexter Gordon
Born:
Dexter Gordon is considered to be the first musician to translate the language of Bebop to the tenor saxophone. Dexter Keith Gordon was born on February 27, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. His father, Dr. Frank Gordon, was one of the first African American doctors in Los Angeles who arrived in 1918 after graduating from Howard Medical School in Washington, D.C. Among his patients were Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Dexter's mother, Gwendolyn Baker, was the daughter of Captain Edward Baker, one of the five African American Medal of Honor recipients in the Spanish-American War. He began his study of music with the clarinet at age 13, then switched to the alto saxophone at 15, and finally to the tenor saxophone at 17
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Lou Marini: A Solo Career Starting At The Age Of 80
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John Coltrane in Detroit: A Brief History
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Detroit Jazz Festival 2026: A Gathering in a Great Jazz City
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The Tension Is Where the Music Lives: Miles Davis at 100,...
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Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a...
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Sullivan Fortner, Jim Rotondi & Dena DeRose, Ardeshir,...
Reanimating Conversations Past
Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic
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