Search - Dexter Gordon :: Manhattan Symphonie

Dexter's finest - an excellent re-issue (finally!)

Il Moro di Venezia | Seattle, WA | 03/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was absolutely delighted to see this one finally available on CD. It is simply my favourite of Dexter's recordings. And what a band - Eddie Gladden on drums, Rufus Reid on bass, and the remarkable George Cables on piano - all of them making this date an especially memorable one. Naturally Dexter is the main ingredient here but Cables in particular brings out the best in him. The arrangement of "As Time Goes By" is worth the purchase alone, sounding like something that was written specifically for Dexter. It's as lyrically beautiful as anything Coltrane put on his "Ballads" album, re-iterating just how important Dexter is in the panoply of great jazz saxophonists. Donald Byrd's "Tanya" is another gem that Gordon makes all his own, with help from some great rhythmic work by Cables and Reid. There are some other CDs with the same personnel worth picking up if you like this one: the live 1978 recordings "A Gordon Cantata" and volumes 1-3 of "Nights at the Keystone"."

Early Autumn

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 06/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This session represents Dexter at the beginning of the last phase of his career, perhaps not quite as dextrous as the preceding 15 years but still sufficiently surprising with his melodic inventions and commanding with his sound to be the mantle bearer following Coltrane's death in 1967. Again, it's a shame that Sony's pathetic attempts to copy-guard the album merely set up numerous obstacles to the purchase of what is otherwise a handsomely produced package--from stellar audio (preferable to Van Gelder's at Blue Note) to a 16-page booklet with updated program notes provided by pianist George Cables.



Elsewhere in the notes, the claim is made that the performance of "Body and Soul" herein is not only Dexter's best but is the masterpiece for all-time. Gratuitous hyperbole--as any listener who has heard Dexter with Tommy Flanagan on "The Panther" would no doubt know. In fact, Dexter's performance of the tune here strikes me as not only self-derivative but overly aggressive and a bit forced. The same for "Tanya" (see "One Flight Up") and yet another release of "Secret Love" (not on the original LP). In fact, Dexter's rhythm section on this date is supportive to the point of "overplaying," with the normally tasteful Cables seemingly intent on filling space much like McCoy accompanying Coltrane.



The performances on this disk are examples of Dexter's mature musical/emotional rhetoric, demonstrating why the saxophonist was reaching larger audiences than ever upon his return to the States in the late '70's. It's a vital documentation of the Tower of Power during his period of fruition (many curses on Sony for seeking to limit the circulation of music as important as this), but it's not so singular as to be "essential" Dexter."

ROOTKIT ON PRESSINGS WITH BAR CODE 827969358122 & RECORD CLU

Greenlight | Vermont | 07/20/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Just to clarify a little more about the rootkit:



If you have or buy a CD with bar code 827969358122, then you have a CD with a rootkit problem. This also applies to record club pressing D162084.



Sony promised to exchange CDs with this bar code, but how to do so is hard to figure out. I'm constrained from providing links per Amazon's protocol, but you can Google "Sony XCP" and it'll take you to the Sony site on the XCP debacle. There is a Tech Support email link there, and while they don't say so, it seems formulated to allow owners to submit info for a CD exchange.



If you have this CD and ever loaded it into your Windows computer, it's best to go to F-Secure (a reputable computer security company) and download their free BlackLight rootkit detector/removal software. Sony's XCP site also offers a removal tool, but why patronize them if you don't have to?"