Dexter Gordon - Go
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Dexter GordonBrand: GORDON,DEXTER
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1999-03-23
Music Label: Blue Note Records
Soundtracks:
- Cheese Cake
- I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
- Second Balcony Jump
- Love For Sale
- Where Are You
- Three O'Clock In The Morning
Free Music Notes for Go
Free Music Review: A HIGH-SPIRITIED GALLOP
Hit: 5 Stars
There are those who think the history of the jazz saxophone begins with Charlie Parker and ends with John Coltrane. They are entitled to their opinions; but such a narrow viewpoint leaves out far too many originals. Dexter Gordon for one. GO! was recorded along with SWING TIME in the later summer of 1962-just before Gordon's fifteen-year "exile" in Europe. Much has been made of Gordon finding Europeans more relaxed in racial distinctions and more hospitable toward jazz musicians in particular. I suppose this is all true; but New York's "performance tax", his two previous prison terms for drug use, and the shrinking number of outlets for "live" jazz also must have played a part. I also have to wonder if the Cuban "Missile Crisis" which followed these recordings provided an addition boot out the door.
The most important point to made of all this is Gordon left the United States just a few steps before the major social upheaval of the 1960's occurred. Gordon missed the sea change that transpired in popular culture as the baby boomers began to take the stage both literally and metaphorically. The United States Gordon came back to fifteen years later was a much different place than the one he left. While developments often went in parallel between America and Europe, the political and social upheavals had different meanings and outcomes. It is not as if Gordon stepped into a time capsule when he went to Europe to live; but expectations of him as an artist were different.
More interestingly, Gordon bypassed the "fusion" experiments in jazz and returned to the scene just as many were looking for a more `authentic" voice in jazz after enduring the bells and whistles of the "next big thing". Since his return and especially after his appearance in the movie `ROUND MIDNIGHT, there has been renewed interest in Gordon's back catalog. GO! is one of the most prominent albums in this popular revival.
The liner notes give one the impression that these recordings were made under somewhat rushed circumstances. If that is so, they don't sound like it. From the very first notes we are treated to a very keen and snappy set of six pieces. Jazz saxophone albums sometimes have a reputation for being slow and sad affairs-more suited to rainy afternoons of quiet introspection. There is none of that here. Gordon and company catch your attention with a high-spirited gallop appropriate for an evening of joyous dancing.
In "Cheese Cake", "Second Balcony Jump", "Three O'Clock In The Morning" and even Cole Porter's "Love For Sale" throws one back to times when people danced to jazz instead of sitting down in quiet contemplation. Indeed, such is the tempo and attitude displayed here that there is something about these performances that reminded me of the 1940's instead of the early 1960's. Gordon's sax playing is bright and warmly assertive to the point that it rises to the level of graceful singing-not just honking out notes. Sammy Clark matches Gordon's fiery displays with sharp articulation on the piano that threatens to steal the show at every turn. If you haven't discovered what an absolutely wonderful drummer Bill Higgins was on Charles Lloyd's last few CDs, check him out here as he shows that even as a relatively young man he knew how to let you marvel at his talent and yet throw the spotlight on other players. Anchoring all these is the steady and solid upright bass playing of Butch Warren. Bass playing is often an unheralded role in any ensemble and in the presence of fantastic fellow band members it must be tempting to play at a level of just "good enough". There is no "good enough" effort with Warren here. Instead Warren rolls, rises and dives in tandem with Higgins with a sensitive ear toward Gordon and Smith.
Even the two "ballads", "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" and "Where Are You", are taken at a clip that is just under the excitement of the four faster pieces mentioned above. The melancholy normally associated with these songs gives way to a cool and confident reading that only slows down the pace of the album a bit. "Where Are You" is a song I typically associate with Frank Sinatra and if I'm not missing my guess Gordon is taking his reading from Sinatra himself. In both versions the actual music resembles more the lilting, gliding motion of a feather drifting through the air. It is only in the very lyrics themselves the hearer perceives the broken glass of dashing hopes. Gordon's playing shakes the song's normal mood from its sadness and pumps it up into a vehicle of high altitude grace.
Finally, this is an outstanding recording sonically. I cannot say whether the achievement rests in the original recording (although even with today's digital bells and whistles there is only so much that can be done with a poor source tape.) or in the transfer from analog to digital production. But this is another demonstration how good high quality monophonic sound could be in those years before stereo became the industry standard. The sound is alive and "hot" as each instrument is distinct and can be clearly discerned from each other.
GO! deserves all the raptures that have come its way. While taking nothing away from Parker or Coltrane it will add another dimension to your appreciation of music. The only "down:" side is that most will feel that the CD's under forty minutes length is much too short.
Go Poster
Dexter Gordon considered this his finest album and few would disagree. With the perfect rhythm section of Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins, this tenor giant reinvents standards like "Three O'Clock In The Morning," "Second Balcony Jump" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" and introduces his most famous composition "Cheese Cake."Just before heading off to a 15-year stay in Europe, the stately Dexter Gordon waxed a pair of records for Blue Note in August 1962: this classic and, two days later, A Swingin' Affair. It's been widely reported that Gordon himself considered Go! his greatest achievement, and (if so) it's easy to hear why. Brimming with conviction and poise, Gordon's gentle-giant sax carries itself with a sort of graceful edge that is difficult to emulate. He's always quick with a humorous quote, yet it always seems to fit just right. He's always languishing behind the beat, yet he never seems late. He possesses an enormous tone, yet he never overwhelms the songs or the listener. He sounds unhurried at any speed. His song selection is typically creative, holding little-known ballads close to his brawny chest like a big, cuddly bear. A stellar rhythm section of the elegantly funky pianist Sonny Clark plus Butch Warren and Billy Higgins doesn't hurt either. --Marc Greilsamer
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