Dexter Gordon – Go (1962)
So you’ve got a token jazz album in your collection – maybe Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis, or perhaps A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. Fantastic albums for sure, but where to go next? Jazz is such a varied and at times baffling genre of music it can be a daunting prospect, but you could do a lot worse than make this your next stopping point.
It’s almost hard to believe that this album was recorded in just a single day during 1962; Go is the very height of Blue Note cool. Like many of his peers Gordon had emerged during the Be Bop scene of the late ‘40’s, being fortunate enough to both perform and record with Charlie Parker. His talents were fully formed by the time this set was released, and backed by the piano, double bass and drums of some of the era’s finest musicians he could hardly have put a foot wrong.
Cheese Cake is a perfect opener. A walking bass line is followed by fast up-tempo sax, with Sonny Clark’s piano filling in the blanks. This is one of the remarkable things about this album, although Gordon’s name is in lights, the other musicians almost share equal billing, especially Clark. Gordon’s playing is fast, fluid and intuitive, but the sense of melody is never forgotten. I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears out to Dry, as the title suggests, is a gentle ballad with warm, rich tenor sax all over it, definitely a case of less is more on this track. Second Balcony Jump combines the mood of these two opening numbers – subtle understated backing allowing Gordon to solo his way all over the first half of the track.
Cole Porter’s much-interpreted Love for Sale allows Gordon to truly soar. After the initial, familiar opening melody a left turn is taken and like Coltrane’s famous recording of My Favourite Things, the track ceases to resemble anything familiar. Special mention too for the drumming of Billy Higgins, emphasising every twist and turn. Another ballad follows with the sublime Where Are You evoking every smoky jazz bar 50’s New York had to offer. Three O’clock in the Morning brings matters to a close in a surprisingly understated manner, Butch Warren’s bass pushing the song along giving Clark and Gordon one last chance to shine.
That much of the playing was undoubtedly improvised just makes this classic all the more impressive, especially as never once does the music become self-indulgent. This album is focused and timeless, and anyone who has even the vaguest interest in music, let alone jazz, should seek it out immediately.
Stuart Preston
So you’ve got a token jazz album in your collection – maybe Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis, or perhaps A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. Fantastic albums for sure, but where to go next? Jazz is such a varied and at times baffling genre of music it can be a daunting prospect, but you could do a lot worse than make this your next stopping point.
It’s almost hard to believe that this album was recorded in just a single day during 1962; Go is the very height of Blue Note cool. Like many of his peers Gordon had emerged during the Be Bop scene of the late ‘40’s, being fortunate enough to both perform and record with Charlie Parker. His talents were fully formed by the time this set was released, and backed by the piano, double bass and drums of some of the era’s finest musicians he could hardly have put a foot wrong.Cheese Cake is a perfect opener. A walking bass line is followed by fast up-tempo sax, with Sonny Clark’s piano filling in the blanks. This is one of the remarkable things about this album, although Gordon’s name is in lights, the other musicians almost share equal billing, especially Clark. Gordon’s playing is fast, fluid and intuitive, but the sense of melody is never forgotten. I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears out to Dry, as the title suggests, is a gentle ballad with warm, rich tenor sax all over it, definitely a case of less is more on this track. Second Balcony Jump combines the mood of these two opening numbers – subtle understated backing allowing Gordon to solo his way all over the first half of the track.
Cole Porter’s much-interpreted Love for Sale allows Gordon to truly soar. After the initial, familiar opening melody a left turn is taken and like Coltrane’s famous recording of My Favourite Things, the track ceases to resemble anything familiar. Special mention too for the drumming of Billy Higgins, emphasising every twist and turn. Another ballad follows with the sublime Where Are You evoking every smoky jazz bar 50’s New York had to offer. Three O’clock in the Morning brings matters to a close in a surprisingly understated manner, Butch Warren’s bass pushing the song along giving Clark and Gordon one last chance to shine.
That much of the playing was undoubtedly improvised just makes this classic all the more impressive, especially as never once does the music become self-indulgent. This album is focused and timeless, and anyone who has even the vaguest interest in music, let alone jazz, should seek it out immediately.
Stuart Preston
