Search - Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon :: Chase

There was only one Dexter Gordon

humblefarmer@midcoast.com | St. George, Maine | 06/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have read the liners on Dexter Gordon. They say that people stood on the chairs when he played. When I listen to Dexter Gordon I sit. I shake my head. Tears come to my eyes. What he plays is unbelieveable. The notes are so simple. A high school kid could play them. But only Dexter could find the notes. So simple. So logical. Like Desmond, but with more humor. If you are a starting jazz musician, or if you simply like the best there is of this kind of music, this should be the first CD in your collection.The humble FarmerA try-to-be bass player, with over 20 years of playing the best of this kind of music on Maine Public Radio. 90.1 FM Portland, 90.9 Bangor, etc, Fridays 7-8 PM"

Great Classic Jazz

Nancy | British Columbia, Canada | 08/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great CD. Listen to Polka Dots & Moonbeams - swings. Dexter was the best and Ammons is great. If you like sax - buy it!"

Better if you were there.

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 04/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Joe Segal-produced session at Chicago's North Park Apartment Hotel catches two of the most distinctive tenor voices in the history of the music at a time (1970) that would have definitely favored Dexter, who paid his prison dues in the '50s whereas Jug had lost almost seven years doing time in the '60s. Moreover, Jug's breath support was just beginning to diminish whereas Dexter was still in good health and would, quite frankly, remain at the top of his game throughout the '70s, virtually untouchable. In fact, I can't think of another player who could get the better of him during this decade, even a young Michael Brecker. Not only were his note choices harmonically advanced and unpredictable, but they were selected so deliberately and delivered with such assurance that each note was like a dagger aimed at the listener's heart. With Coltrane's death in 1967 Dexter became "the man" and remained on top for the next 10-15 years. I can still see him at the completion of another miraculous solo, extending his instrument horizontally toward the audience, as a sacrificial gesture as well as an offering of thanksgiving to the faithful for invoking the muse inspiring him to make another productive ascent up Mt. Sinai.



This recording brings back good memories, but for the best of Jug go to "Boss Tenor" or either of the two 1961 Prestige sessions featuring Jug with Sonny Stitt. For the best of Dexter, try "Love for Sale" on "Go" or "Body and Soul" on "The Panther.""