Welcome to The Jazz Ethos a blog devoted to the History of Jazz, America’s Greatest Contribution to the Arts. We’ll be focusing on an artist/Musician or relevant topic per week. I can think of no one more appropriate to start off this concept of a Jazz Ethos than devoting the first blog post to Dexter Gordon. His life, among all the historical figures of jazz, represents the epitome of The Jazz Ethos, the devotion, the triumphs, as well as the trials and tribulations of what it means to be a creative artist, devoted to his craft, his music, while living in the greater society, both in the United States and the World during the 20th Century.
Dexter Gordon’s background is quite interesting. His maternal grandfather, Captain Edward Lee Baker, Jr., was a Buffalo Soldier who fought alongside Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War and received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service. Captain Baker played the trumpet, as well. Dexter
Gordon’s father, Doctor Frank Gordon, was a graduate of Howard University Medical
School. His practice was one of the
first African American medical practices in Los Angeles, focusing on the
African American community. Some of his
patients included Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington. Dexter started his musical
odyssey playing the clarinet and then gradually gravitated to the tenor
saxophone. All this while he was in high
school. BTW: Dexter was six foot six,
which earned him a couple of nicknames throughout his career, Long Tall Dexter
and Sophisticated Giant among them. Dexter’s first big break came when he was
asked to join Lionel Hampton’s Band in 1940. Hampton having recently left Benny Goodman’s
groups to form his own touring band.
Dexter was playing alongside Illinois Jacquet of Flying Home fame and
Marshall Royal who would end up playing with Count Basie for over 20 years. This gig led to playing briefly with Louis
Armstrong (1944) and then with the Billy Eckstine Orchestra (1944-5) and Benny
Carter (1947). By the mid-1940s, Dexter
Gordon was immersed in New York City in the new music called bebop. In fact,
some of the first bebop recordings include Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone. “Blue and Boogie” with Dizzy Gillespie and
his Sextet, and “Dexter’s Riff” from The Dexter Gordon Quintet with unheralded
Leo Parker on Baritone Sax, among them.
The Dexter Gordon recordings featuring Dexter Gordon and
Wardell Grey and Dexter with Gene Ammons, among them The Chase, represent
a sub-genre of jazz known as the tenor sax battle/duel. There are many examples
of these team-ups. “The Chase”, was recorded in 1947 in Los Angeles. Yes, Dexter was HOT, crisscrossing the
country. He was part of the new thing at
the time - Bebop. He was on tour. These tenor battles were a thing between
stars for quite a while. The Dexter
Gordon/Wardell Gray battles were at or near the top for years. Of course, there were others. Dexter and Gene Ammons, Gene Ammons and
Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Johnny Griffin and Sonny Stitt. Johnny Griffin and Dexter Gordon. “The Chase” was from a studio recording from
1947 with Gordon and Gray dueling it out on Tenor Sax.
The unfortunate thing about the bebop school was the number
of musicians caught up in the drug scene and in particular, heroin. This did not escape Dexter. The 1950s saw him serve 2 different stints
in jail for drug possession. One of
which was in Folsom Prison in California.
It was somewhat of a lost decade, with very few recordings, considering
his popularity in the 1940s. He
recorded sporadically during the entire decade of the 1950’s, as a result, the
nadir of his career, you might say. We’re going to move onto the 1960’s, his
Blue Note years, after his rehabilitation from his drug addiction. One of the most iconic jazz photos in history
shows Dexter with his sax enjoying a brief pause with the swirling smoke
enveloping the scene. A Francis Wolfe
photo. Iconic! Francis Wolfe will be a
topic in a Later edition of this blog. One
of the chief image makers of the Jazz Ethos. Some of the noted albums that Dexter Gordon
did at this time were. A Swingin’ Affair (1962); Dexter Calling (1961); Go!
(1962); Doin’ Allright (1961); and Our Man in Paris (1963). All on Blue Note Records. I rate any of these albums High on my Favorites
list, but in particular, A Swingin’ Affair and Go! take
precedence. I can’t get enough of “Cheesecake”
and “Soy Califa”. He was also a noted Sideman on other musicians’ albums throughout this portion of his career. Most notably on Herbie Hancock’s debut album
on Blue Note called Takin’ Off (1962) and with Jackie McClean on The
Meeting (Steeple Chase 1973).
Interestingly, the latter features a cut called “All Clean”.
The early 1960s were a very productive and creative time for Dexter Gordon. There are several significant albums that he put out as a
leader, as well as others that he performed on as a sideman. However, by 1962, he had had it with the racial discrimination, the lack of respect for artistry, and the economic pressures, competitions, and hardships of a style of music that was never fully accepted by the broader American public. This led
Dexter to decide to relocate to Europe, first to Paris and then to Copenhagen. Books have been written on the plight of the
artist, and in particular the jazz artist in the U.S., mainly African American,
and the individual’s decision to become an expatriate. Several come to mind, Sidney Bechet, Kenny
Clarke, Bud Powell, Ben Webster, Benny Bailey, Kenny Drew, Don Byas and Dexter Gordon, just to name a few. There was less discrimination in Europe, not
none, but definitely less, and more artistic respect and support. And Dexter continued to record for several
European record labels.
After settling in Paris initially, Blue Note decided to
record an album of ex-pats, Our Man in Paris (1963). Quite a line up – Bud Powell, who had been
living there for a several years, unfortunately succumbing to a number of
health related issues, probably on his last reliable recording date; Kenny
Clarke (one of the bebop drum pioneers) on drums, and the French bassist,
Pierre Michelot, who would become one of Dexter’s regular accompanists during
his over a decade spent in Europe.
The expat story of jazz musicians, as well as others, is a part of the music and overall arts scene throughout the 20th century and beyond. A very interesting depiction
of this scene from Hollywood was the movie ‘Round Midnight (1986), which
stars Dexter Gordon, who plays the main musician character in the movie AND
which earned him an Oscar nomination in the leading actor category in 1986. He also won a Grammy the same year, performing
in the soundtrack of the same movie.
Quite a feat.
I must say that I feel lucky to have heard and seen him live
a couple of times in New York. His
performances were always very laid back, very cool, and very romantic. He often quoted the lyrics of the song when
he introduced his next number. Columbia Records
must have thought so as well. His
latter output consisted of some live recordings upon his triumphant return to
the United States in 1976. His career
re-energized; he became a celebrity of sorts after 14 years abroad. Jazz
royalty; an elder statesman. Many of his
recordings are classics. And many have
been reissued or repackaged. Two notable
very recent repackage items, compilations are called Dexter Gordon Plays the
Blues (2025) on UMG and Blue Dex: Dexter Gordon Plays the Blues
(1996/2024) on Prestige. Both rise to
the occasion, to paraphrase a quote by Carmen McRae. Both are great places to start or return to
an understanding of mid-20th-century modern jazz on the tenor sax. Laid back, behind the beat, soulful modern
Blues.
Dexter Gordon died in Philadelphia in 1990 from a
combination of emphysema and cancer. His
story is one of the quintessential jazzman’s stories of the 20th
century. The trials and
tribulations. The Highs and Lows of
artistic creativity. The
persistence. In addition to the movie he
starred in, ‘Round Midnight (1986), may I also recommend his
biography/memoirs, written by his wife and artistic manager, Maxine Gordon,
called “Sophisticated Giant: The Life
and Legacy of Dexter Gordon”. (2018)
It’s a slice of American History, both musical and social history, that needs
to be told, and in this case, it is so lovingly and thoroughly. The Jazz Ethos. Keep on Cookin’!!!
Comments
Post a Comment