Hello and welcome to a new series that features the music from my record collection. These will be records straight from my record player, so a more full, warm sound will hopefully stay with these tracks through the process of getting them on my compooper. This album is yours to enjoy (there’s a link at the bottom of the post to download the album).
This is a record from a great innovator and musician, Dexter Gordon. He’s a total technician but with amazing expression, tone and vocabulary. Although his tone is not light (although at times it can be breathy), there is a playful and relaxed sense to the way he approaches music. This was recorded in the early 60’s for Blue Note Records with Freddie Hubbard and the members of Horace Parlan Trio
The opening track, I Was Doing All Right (Gershwin) has a deep laid back pocket and a catchy melody with lots of room for space. The blowing changes do not change keys too quickly either. This tune moves without forcing it. Freddie Hubbard sounds amazing doubling the melody with Dex and blowing his solo. The way the whole group locks up feels real good.
You’ve Changed is a popular ballad that was covered by vocalists like Nat “King Cole”, Sarah Vaughan, and Diana Ross. Dexter shows off his vibrato and sense of phrasing, and makes a statement about how lyrical he can be on a head. The rhythm section (Horace Parlan, piano; George Tucker, bass; Al Harewood, drums) really stick with Gordon as he weaves in and out of these changes. Although Parlan’s solo on “I Was Doin’ All Right” is nothing monumental, he swings really fucking hard in the solo and his comping chops sounds really comfortable. He keeps his cool while Freddie takes his solo in and out of a double-time feel on this ballad.
Probably my second favorite track on the album (behind I Was Doing All Right), For Regulars Only features some interestingly dissonant harmonies between Freddie and Dex on the A section, then back to unison on the bridge. I was writing before on how Dexter has a sense of humor about the music. On the last A section of his 2nd chorus, he hits (what I believe is) the lowest note on his horn and is sure to leave plenty of space before and after it. When people hear this record for the first time, a lot of them can’t help but laugh and I feel like that’s his intention. Al Harewood keeps his playing light and full of texture while George Tucker has a great sense of time and a full, round sound. The best part of this rhythm section is that they swing balls even if none of them are taking absolutely killin solos. I think the former is more important. At the beginning of Horace’s solo you can hear the melodic ball being passed from Hubbard off to him, as he repeats a figure that Hubbard finished his solo with. You can hear a lick that Parlan really favors on this whole album, a group of 6, 16th notes that outline the important notes of a transitional (the dominant) chord, along with some color tones that could be considered a bop colloquialism.
The head to Society Red is pretty cool; regular blues except for the rhythmic feel of the first 8 bars is straight and military sounding. Freddie gets the first solo on this one, first time on the whole record that Dexter hasn’t taken it. Takes some melodic ideas from the head for some of his second chorus. While Hubbard’s energy rises and he starts to take it into double time, the band stays on the same page but keeps on swinging business as usual. A quick melodic figure breaks up the two horn players’ solos. Gordon really gets the band going though, and Parlan lays down some comping kindling for Harewood to get fancy with the snare comping and light a fire under Dex’s ass. But it’s very controlled and cool, a simmer; it cooks. Parlan seems very comfortable on this tune, and we hear his trademark lick at least twice more. He takes his solo into an interesting harmonic area for his last chorus and finally we hear from George Tucker. His feel is really laid back and cool. It’s so much what he says, it’s more about the way he’s saying it.
The first few bars of It’s You or No One start off with a pedal from Parlan that leaves a sense of harmonic tension in the air until the rest of the band comes in. On this track we hear Dexter play more bebop vocabulary than the rest of the album. Freddie explores the higher range on his horn, coming right out of the starting gate screaming for a short, concise solo. Parlan’s solo is based mostly on his favorite lick. After, Al Harewood finally gets some space to blow and really shows off his chops in a tasteful way. The album ends after a tag that goes through a few different keys. I’ve definitely flipped this back over to play side one again a few times. Enjoy: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xilm0n8lac6d5hj/8sLtdLFobH
-Pete