This magnificent album of
progressive jazz from the mid-'40s contains the earliest recordings released under
Dexter Gordon's name. The opening session finds him in the company of
Nat King Cole and
Harry "Sweets" Edison. While
Cole based much of his piano style on the creative accomplishments of
Earl Hines,
Gordon named
Roy Eldridge and
Lester Young as primary influences. The inspiration to emulate
Prez, said
Dex, "...came like a bolt out of the blue to me...I readily identified with his ideas and concepts...." This is superbly demonstrated in the relaxed jamming atmosphere of the first four tracks, particularly "I Blowed and Gone."
Gordon said that by the time he joined the
Lionel Hampton band in December of 1940, he'd been listening carefully to
Prez "for three or four years." By 1943
Gordon's saxophone voice had ripened under that influence to the point where he was beginning to tell his own story. Then one night in 1944 at
Minton's Playhouse,
Gordon sat in literally between
Lester Young and
Ben Webster. Recording for Savoy in October of 1945,
Gordon was teamed with adventurous pianist
Sadik Hakim, backed by
Gene Ramey and
Ed Nicholson. These performances resemble
Lester Young's Aladdin and early Clef recordings. The second Savoy session from January 1946 has
Leonard Hawkins blowing trumpet and a wicked rhythm section in
Bud Powell,
Curly Russell, and
Max Roach. As is the case with most of the groups heard on this collection, the combination of creative minds is stunning. And here
Gordon establishes his wonderful personal regimen of delivering slow, full-feature tenor ballads. Back in 1943, "Sweet Lorraine" was shared with
Nat Cole, who soon became closely identified with that melody. "I Can't Escape from You" is the first real example listeners have of
Gordon the three-minute balladeer. Other forthcoming offerings in this vein are "Talk of the Town" and "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You." His next session as a leader took place in Hollywood on June 5, 1947, with trombonist
Melba Liston, who was soloing with and writing arrangements for
Gerald Wilson's orchestra during this period (see Classics 976, the 1945-1946 volume of the label's
Wilson chronology). "Mischievous Lady" and "Lullabye in Rhythm" contain what seem to be
Liston's first solos recorded in a small-band environment. It's a shame that this group didn't cut a dozen more sides together. One week later,
Gordon and
Wardell Gray cut their famous two-part tenor blowout, "The Chase." Since
Charlie Parker's "Klactoveedsedstene," with its distinctive opening clause, was recorded on October 28, 1947, it is interesting to hear the same lick used to open and close "The Chase," recorded nearly five months earlier. Which came first, the
Bird or the egg? As "The Chase" proceeds, another riff emerges, forming the basis for the theme and the beginning of the first solo. It is based on
Alphonse Picou's famous clarinet passage from "High Society," the old
new orleans jazz anthem. Here is the great multi-generational span dance, the new thing firmly grounded in the old. Every single record reissued here is worth its weight in gold.
Gordon's Dial recordings, especially "Chromatic Aberration" and "Bikini," are full-blooded mature statements from a 24-year-old master improviser wise beyond his years. Even in the face of all the great records he would make in the years to come, this stash of
Dexter Gordon's early work should be cherished among his very best. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide
