Dexter Gordon

American jazz saxophonist and composer

• Born: February 27, 1923
• Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
• Died: April 25, 1990
• Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

An important link between the swing era and modern bebop, Gordon was noted for his assertive yet sensitive tenor tone, his penchant for quoting, and his incomparable ballad playing.

The Life

Dexter Keith Gordon was born on February 27, 1923, in Los Angeles, California, son of Frank Gordon, one of the first African American doctors in Los Angeles, and Gwendolyn Baker. While still in high school, Gordon was recruited to join Lionel Hampton’s band, with which he toured extensively and made his first recordings. He spent the majority of the 1940’s touring with some of America’s top big bands, most notably with Louis Armstrong and Billy Eckstine.

The 1950’s were largely a period of inactivity for Gordon, who was in and out of prison for drug-related offenses. By 1960, however, Gordon had the first of two major resurgences in his career: He signed a contract with Blue Note Records, and he recorded some of his most revered sessions as a leader. In 1962 Gordon relocated to Europe, and he spent the next fourteen years living and recording in Paris and Copenhagen, one of many prominent American jazz musicians who found Europe in the 1960’s better suited their musical lives.

Gordon permanently relocated to the United States in 1976, with a special return engagement at the Village Vanguard. That event received such praise that it resulted in the second major revitalization of his career. In the 1980’s Gordon’s playing began to decrease, and he launched a second career as an actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of an expatriate jazz musician in ’Round Midnight (1986), and he had a minor role in Awakenings (1991), which was released after his death. When he died of kidney failure on April 25, 1990, Gordon was survived by his widow, Maxine, and his five children, Robin, Dierdre, Mikael, Benjamin, and Woody.

The Music

In the 1940’s Gordon first appears on recordings with the Lionel Hampton Big Band (where he shared tenor saxophone duties with Illinois Jacquet). In 1943 he led his first session (released as “I’ve Found a New Baby”), featuring Nat King Cole on piano. Gordon then went on to perform and to record with many of the top big bands of the era, from Fletcher Henderson to Armstrong to Eckstine. It was his time in Eckstine’s band that led to his development as a bebop player, sharing the bandstand on any given evening with fellow swing-to-bop pioneers Fats Navarro, Sonny Stitt, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, and Sarah Vaughan.

Early Works. As early as 1945, Gordon recorded bebop sides in a quintet led by Gillespie (released as In the Beginning), and soon he began increasing the frequency of his releases as a leader. With various quartets and quintets in 1945 and 1946, Gordon released his trademark self-titled compositions, from “Long Tall Dexter,” to “Dexter Digs In,” to “Blow Mr. Dexter” (ironically, the “Dexter” titles, so closely tied to his career as a leader, were not contributed by Gordon). Many of these tracks can be found on Long Tall Dexter, released on Savoy Records in 1945. In 1947 Gordon teamed up with fellow tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and released The Chase, a famous bebop recording featuring extended duels between the two tenors. Later in 1947, Gordon recorded with trumpeter Navarro and pianist-arranger Tadd Dameron on famous bebop sessions for Savoy Records.

Doin’ Allright. With a few exceptions (Los Angeles session dates in 1955 under the titles Dexter Blows Hot and Cool and The Daddy Plays the Horn), the 1950’s saw little recording from Gordon because of his imprisonment on drug charges. Upon his release, Gordon was recruited by Blue Note Records, and he released some of his most critically acclaimed and beloved recordings. The Blue Note period featured Doin’ Allright (with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard), Dexter Calling, Go!, A Swingin’ Affair, Our Man in Paris, One Flight Up, Clubhouse, and Gettin’ Around. Gordon was also a sideman on Herbie Hancock’s legendary first record, Takin’ Off, in 1962.

Homecoming. Living in Paris and Copenhagen from 1962 to 1976 (returning occasionally to record sessions for Blue Note and to visit his family), Gordon also recorded sessions for the European labels Steeplechase and Black Lion. A series of legendary concerts at Copenhagen’s Montmartre Club led to the release of multiple recordings in 1967, including Body and Soul and Both Sides of Midnight. While still living in Europe, Gordon released American recordings for the Prestige Label, including The Tower of Power, The Panther!, Jumpin’ Blues, Tangerine, and Generation. Upon permanent relocation to the United States in 1976, Gordon’s return engagement to the Village Vanguard was released as Homecoming on the Columbia Records label. Throughout the late 1970’s and occasionally in the 1980’s, Gordon made recordings on various labels (Columbia, Blue Note), and he collaborated with Hampton, Hancock, and Woody Shaw.

Musical Legacy

For much of his career, Gordon did not garner the praise that some of his fellow tenor saxophonists did. Perhaps this was because he was not strictly a swing-era star such as Lester Young or a bebop avant-garde pioneer such as John Coltrane. However, after he returned to live in the United States in 1976, adulation for Gordon and his music grew. Jazz aficionados recognized him as a musician who was influenced by the swing players and who at the same time had a significant influence on the bebop players. Additionally, his style of combining swing and bebop influences with his powerful tone, harmonic inventiveness, and lyrical ballad playing has been emulated by following generations of tenor saxophonists. Gordon was elected to the Down Beat Hall of Fame in 1980, and he was nominated for an Academy Award (as Best Actor in ’Round Midnight) in 1986.

Principal Recordings

albums:Dexter Rides Again, 1945; Long Tall Dexter, 1945; The Chase, 1947 (with Wardell Gray); Dexter Gordon Quintet, 1947; The Duel, 1947 (with Teddy Edwards); The Hunt, 1947; The Daddy Plays the Horn, 1955; Dexter Blows Hot and Cool, 1955; The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon, 1960; Dexter Calling, 1961; Dexter Gordon, 1961; Doin’ Allright, 1961; Landslide, 1961; Cry Me a River, 1962; Go!, 1962; A Swingin’ Affair, 1962; Our Man in Paris, 1963; One Flight Up, 1964; Clubhouse, 1965; Gettin’ Around, 1965; Body and Soul, 1967; Both Sides of Midnight, 1967; Take the “A” Train, 1967; Day in Copenhagen, 1969 (with Slide Hampton); More Power!, 1969; Power!, 1969; The Tower of Power, 1969; Jumpin’ Blues, 1970; The Panther!, 1970; The Shadow of Your Smile, 1971; Ca’Purange, 1972; Generation, 1972; Tangerine, 1972; Blues à la Suisse, 1973; Dexter Gordon-Sonny Grey with the Georges Arvanitas Trio, 1973; The Apartment, 1974; Revelation, 1974; Bouncin’ with Dex, 1975; More than You Know, 1975; Something Different, 1975; Stable Mable, 1975; Biting the Apple, 1976; Featuring Joe Newman, 1976 (with Joe Newman); Homecoming, 1976; Lullaby for a Monster, 1976; Strings and Things, 1976; True Blue, 1976 (with Al Cohn); Midnight Dream, 1977; Sophisticated Giant, 1977; Great Encounters, 1978; Manhattan Symphonie, 1978; Gotham City, 1980; Jive Fernando, 1981; The Other Side of ’Round Midnight, 1985; ’Round Midnight, 1985.

Bibliography

Britt, Sam. Dexter Gordon: A Musical Biography. New York: Da Capo Press, 1989. Contains biographical information on Gordon with a focus on his career in music. Includes discography.

Gioia, Ted. West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. This work includes many references to Gordon’s influence on the West Coast jazz scene in the late 1940’s.

Outhwaite, Tony. “Back in the U.S.A.” National Review 29, no. 38 (September 30, 1977). An article that focuses on the excitement surrounding the return of Gordon to the United States after fourteen years of living in Europe.

Panken, Ted. “Jackie McLean on Dexter Gordon.” Down Beat 71, no. 7 (July, 2004): 32. Famous jazz alto saxophonist McLean discusses the significance of Gordon’s tenor saxophone playing and his importance place in jazz history.

Taylor, Arthur. Notes and Tones: Musician to Musician Interviews. New York: Da Capo Press, 1993. This expanded edition contains a dialogue between Taylor and Gordon, and they discuss jazz’s musical and racial history.