Spotlight on Jazz

The Boston Jazz Society, Inc.

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SPOTLIGHT - DEXTER GORDON

Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 - April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and an Academy Award-nominated actor. He is considered one of the first bebop tenor players. Gordon's height was 6 feet 5 inches (about 196 cm), and so consequently he was also known as 'Long Tall Dexter'.

"Dexter Gordon was a big man who did things in a big way. The man who almost single-handedly brought the tenor saxophone into the modern jazz era stood 6 feet 5 inches tall and had a way of making his presence felt. He didn't so much enter a room as take it over. On the bandstand he was invariably the center of attention. When he played, it was with tremendous authority and a big, booming sound."

- Peter Keepnews, NYTimes, 1991.

Gordon was born and grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a doctor who counted Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton among his patients. He played clarinet from the age of 13, before switching to saxophone (initially alto, then tenor) at 15. While still at school, he was playing in bands with such contemporaries as Chico Hamilton and Buddy Collette.

Between 1940 and 1943, Gordon was a member of Lionel Hampton's band, playing in a saxophone section alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshall Royal. In 1943 he made his first recordings under his own name, alongside Nat Cole and Harry Edison. During 1943-44 he featured in the Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson bands, before joining Billy Eckstine.

By 1945, Gordon had left the Eckstine band and was resident in New York, where he was performing and recording with Charlie Parker, as well as recording under his own name.

Many would characterise Gordon's sound as being 'large' and spacious (a feature partially owed to his big'n'tall physical stature), and his tendency to play behind the beat is discernible. One of his major influences was Lester Young. Gordon, in turn, was an early influence on John Coltrane during the 1940s and 1950s. Coltrane's playing, however, during his early period from the mid to late '50s or early '60s influenced Gordon's playing from then onward. Similarities in their styles include their clear, strong, metallic tones, their tendencies to bend up to high notes, and their abilities to single-tongue and still swing. One of Gordon's idiosyncrasies was to recite the lyrics of each ballad before playing it.