Unanimously hailed by jazz critics as certainly one of his biggest ever albums, Go was Dexter Gordon’s third LP for Blue Be aware Information. It heralded a exceptional upturn within the tenor saxophonist’s profession, which briefly bloomed within the late 40s earlier than floundering in the course of the subsequent decade on account of his battle with heroin dependancy.
However by 1960, Gordon, a delicate big from Los Angeles who stood at six-foot six-inches tall, appeared to have gained management of his demons and was pushed by a newfound sense of function. The primary tenor saxophonist to completely take up the argot of bebop, Gordon visited New York in 1960 and attracted the eye of Blue Be aware boss Alfred Lion, who signed him to his label on November 7 of that yr. It was the beginning of what was arguably probably the most fruitful recording interval within the saxophonist’s profession.
Gordon’s first two periods for the label, in Could 1961, resulted within the traditional albums Doin’ Allright and Dexter Calling, whose crucial success prompted Lion to place Gordon within the studio once more. He scheduled a session for Monday, August 27, 1962; it could yield Go, an album that the saxophonist himself considered his favourite recording.
Lion had organized for Gordon, who was then six months shy of his fortieth birthday, to report with a youthful rhythm part comprising 31-year-old pianist Sonny Clark (who had been making his personal data for Blue Be aware since 1957) alongside two musicians nonetheless of their 20s: bassist, Edward “Butch” Warren and drummer Billy Higgins, whom Gordon was already accustomed to, having performed with them on Herbie Hancock’s debut album, Takin’ Off, three months earlier.
Go begins with an authentic Gordon composition, “Cheese Cake,” which rapidly turned a stalwart of Gordon’s stay performances proper up till his loss of life, in 1990. The music was an unofficial homage to fellow tenor titan Lester Younger and drew inspiration from the latter’s music “Tickle Toe,” although it was recast in a minor key. After Gordon’s assertion of the music’s memorable “head” theme, he then breaks off for a magnificently fluid solo and reveals that, regardless of the difficulties he encountered within the 50s, his musical potential by no means suffered.
Ballads have been Dexter Gordon’s specialty and his interpretation of the Jules Styne-penned “I Guess I’ll Hang Out My Tears To Dry” is an beautiful instance of his potential to indicate his softer, lyrical facet. Nonetheless, his tone is virile and muscular, however his phrasing, which is sensuous and delicate, reveals a extra weak facet. Gordon instinctively is aware of the best way to squeeze each drop of emotion out of a melodic phrase, however in a delicate means with out being maudlin or melodramatic.
“Second Balcony Jump” is Gordon’s revamp of a 1946 swing report by crooner and bandleader Billy Eckstine. Gordon’s model is much less frenetic than the unique, although it’s nonetheless imbued with a propulsive sense of rhythmic élan. After stating the infectious important riff, Gordon embarks on an expansive solo that highlights his melodic invention. It additionally features a melodic snippet from Nat “King” Cole’s 1950 hit “Mona Lisa,” reflecting Gordon’s love of quoting from different songs in his solos.
Gordon additionally drops in a quote from “Mexican Hat Dance” on his jaunty interpretation of Cole Porter’s jazz customary “Love For Sale,” the place the rhythm part initially creates a Latin-style undertow earlier than launching right into a passage of full-throttle swing.
Go’s second and remaining ballad is “Where Are You?,” co-authored by famous songwriter Jimmy McHugh, who was additionally liable for penning the requirements “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “The Sunny Side Of The Street.” Previous to Gordon’s Blue Be aware recording, the music had been coated by singers Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis, in addition to jazz instrumentalists equivalent to Ben Webster and Kenny Dorham. However Gordon, with simpatico accompaniment from his younger quartet, summons up the essence of late-night loneliness with a young interpretation that captures the forlorn temper of the music’s lyrics.
The temper is lighter on the gently swinging “Three O’Clock In The Morning,” which ends the album on an upbeat observe. The unique music was successful in 1922 for bandleader Paul Whiteman, however right here Dexter Gordon transforms it right into a bebop-inspired automobile that highlights the fluency of his saxophone improvisations.
Although Gordon would go on to launch three extra excellent albums for Blue Be aware (together with A Swingin’ Affair, recorded with the identical personnel simply two days after Go), it’s the LP he made on August 27, 1962, that stands tallest within the saxophonist’s catalogue.
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