CLEAR THE DEX:

The Prestige Years, Manhattan Symphonie & the return to the U.S.

 

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During the entire time he recorded for Blue Note, Gordon stayed in touch with Prestige Records producer Don Schlitten. In 1969 he signed a two-record deal with Prestige and recorded sessions for The Tower of Power and More Power. Prior to signing with Prestige, Gordon had recorded some sessions for European labels such as Steeplechase and Black Lion. Tower of Power and More Power feature Barry Harris, Buster Williams, Albert “Tootie” Heath, and on several tracks, guest tenor player James Moody. The playing here is congenial, relaxed, with no attempts being made to break new ground. No, this is the sound of a master musician doing the very thing that he is famous for, the thing that he does. The 70s Prestige albums have never carried the cachet of the Blue Note sides, but one reason for that may be that several of the Prestige albums became unavailable for a time, perhaps leading some to surmise that the sessions were less than essential. In 2005 Prestige remedied this situation by releasing the mammoth 11-CD box set Dexter Gordon: The Complete Prestige Recordings. This set primarily documents all of Dex’s work for Prestige from 1969 through around 1973, with some earlier work for the label (a recording with Wardell Gray, the 1960 album The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon and two performances from Booker Ervin’s Setting the Pace featuring pianist Jaki Byard and bassist Reggie Workman) thrown in for completeness. Hearing Dexter tear into “Montmartre” and “Lady Bird,” along with equally interesting alternate takes of each makes it immediately clear that this is a body of work that is in no way inferior within the artist’s discography.

Before returning to Europe, Gordon played live gigs at Baltimore’s Left Bank Jazz Society on May 4, 1969. These were recorded and subsequently released as the albums L.T.D. Live at the Left Bank and XXL Live at the Left Bank. Gordon, along with rhythm section Bobby Timmons, Victor Gaskin, and Percy Brice, burns through a series of tunes, including Monk’s “Rhythm-A-Ning” on which he plays a seven minute solo that remains vital, energetic, and bristling with inventiveness throughout. There’s a beautiful reading of “Misty” on which Gordon doesn’t really deviate from the melody all that much but on which he nonetheless puts his distinctive stamp. A lengthy “Love for Sale” again hints at the bossa rhythms of the version on Go!, but which gets a bit more down home feel from Timmons. Dexter Gordon with Junior Mance Live at Montreux is represented by standouts such as a lively version of “Fried Bannanas” and a sumptuous reading of Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady.”

On 1970’s The Panther, Gordon is joined by pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Larry Ridley, and drummer Alan Dawson. Opening with an authoritative version of Clifford Brown’s “Blues Walk,” the group immediately establishes itself as top notch. This is an album that can truly be set right beside Gordon’s best Blue Note recordings. Gordon was paired with Albert Ammons for a retake on The Chase, and Gordon’s last real two-tenor collaboration. During the same stateside visit, Gordon also recorded the sessions for The Jumpin’ Blues, an album that featured ever-tasteful pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Roy Brooks. Gordon lays down a definitive “Rhtyhm-A-Ning,” which he was playing often. There’s also a wonderful performance of “Star Eyes” utilizing the Parker original’s rhumba opening. When Gordon soars as the rhythm section breaks into a straight-ahead swing, it feels like freedom itself.

In 1972, Gordon returned to the States to record sessions for two additional Prestige albums. However, the sessions went so well that almost all of the material was released over the course of three albums: Tangerine, Generation, and Ca’Purange. Generation (and one single track on Tangerine) features Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Buster Williams, and Billy Higgins. This is a distinctive group, and again the results of this recording largely rival anything from the Blue Note Years. Most of Tangerine and all of Ca’Purange feature something of an Afro-funk soul feel. These sessions feature Thad Jones on trumpet and flugelhorn, Hank Jones at the piano, Stanley Clarke on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Without the use of electronics, these performances brought Gordon’s hearty post-bop tenor sound firmly into the modern jazz mainstream without sacrificing or dumbing down his artistry at all. Gordon handles “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” as though it were a standard from the Great American Songbook, and he tears up Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin” like no one this side of Sonny could. Again, Gordon is at the top of his form, and the sheer volume of his stellar recorded work comes prominently into focus.

The last disc in the Prestige set includes Dexter’s 1973 live at Montreux album Blues a la Suisse. Featured are pianist Hampton Hawes, who works both acoustic and electric piano, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Kenny Clarke. Some may bristle at hearing Dexter with electric piano, but it’s a needless worry: Gordon’s musical spirit is too strong to be waylaid by something as innocuous as an electric keyboard, particularly when it’s played as funkily and tastily as Hawes does here. For the final track the group is joined by guests Gene Ammons, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, and Kenneth Nash for “Treux Blue.” Overall, the majority of the music contained on the Complete Prestige Recordings is very high quality, and will certainly not disappoint Dexter fans in any way.

At the end of 1976, Gordon returned from some 14 years in Europe to play some dates at the Village Vanguard. Unexpectedly, Gordon was the jazz world’s darling, with critics lauding his mature playing and a new generation of listeners coming to hear him. Gordon returned to the States and enjoyed a renewed career until his death in 1990. Less than a year after his triumphant return, Gordon recorded Sophisticated Giant for Columbia. In 1978, Gordon went back into the studio with a band comprised of pianist George Cables, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Eddie Gladden and emerged with the classic album Manhattan Symphonie, which remains a highlight of Gordon’s discography.

Manhattan Symphonie is another perfect Dexter Gordon album, and the fact that it was on a major American music label didn’t change Dex’s approach one bit. He and the band are playing absolutely top notch bebop-influenced jazz, and it’s hard to believe this kind of thing was getting recorded and released at the time. The group revisits the signature tune “Tanya,” with Cables offering an incredibly church-tinged flourish to the piano vamp, and Dexter sounding like his tone has been mellowed in an oak barrel for a couple of decades. Comparing the Gordon of Manhattan Symphonie with Daddy Plays the Horn, or even his very earliest Blue Notes, one hears what was missing from Dexter’s sound then—experience and the distillation of one’s voice down to its absolute essentials, devoid of extraneous trappings.

Dexter went on to greater fame in the States in the mid-1980s when he contributed to the soundtrack of the film Round Midnight, as well as taking a starring role in the film. A couple of recordings of soundtrack music from the film were released, and Gordon also did some work with Herbie Hancock, another contributor to Round Midnight’s soundtrack. Gordon passed away April 26, 1990, leaving behind a recorded jazz legacy rivaled by few modern jazz musicians. Gordon’s work, at all stages of his career, is something to be savored like the finest of spirits. Rest assured that anytime you pull out a Dexter Gordon recording, you will be hearing a musician of the highest order whose recorded output is remarkably consistent and appealing.