His Savoy recordings during 1945-46 included Blow Mr. In late 1945 he was recording under his own name for the Savoy label. During early 1945 he was featured on recordings by Dizzy Gillespie ( Blue 'n' Boogie, Groovin' High) and Sir Charles Thompson ( Takin' Off, If I Had You, 20th Century Blues, The Street Beat). In 1943 he was featured, alongside Harry "Sweets" Edison, in recordings under Nat Cole for a small label not affected by the strike.īy late 1944, Gordon was resident in New York, a regular at bebop jam sessions, and a featured soloist in the Billy Eckstine big band ("If That's The Way You Feel", "I Want To Talk About You", "Blowin' the Blues Away", "Opus X", "I'll Wait And Pray", "The Real Thing Happened To Me", "Lonesome Lover Blues", "I Love the Rhythm in a Riff"). The 1942–44 musicians' strike curtailed the recording of the Hampton, Henderson, and Armstrong bands however, they were recorded on V-Discs produced by the Army for broadcast and distribution among overseas troops. During 1944 he was featured in the Fletcher Henderson band, followed by the Louis Armstrong band, before joining Billy Eckstine. īetween December 19, Gordon was a member of Lionel Hampton's band, playing in a saxophone section alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshal Royal. While still at school, he played in bands with such contemporaries as Chico Hamilton and Buddy Collette. Gordon began his study of music with the clarinet at age 13, then switched to the alto saxophone at 15, and finally to the tenor saxophone at 17.
one of the five African American Medal of Honor recipients in the Spanish–American War. Dexter's mother, Gwendolyn Baker, was the daughter of Captain Edward Lee Baker, Jr. Among his patients were Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Frank Gordon, one of the first African American doctors in Los Angeles, arrived in 1918 after graduating from Howard University Medical School in Washington, D.C. Life and career Early life ĭexter Keith Gordon was born on Februin Los Angeles, California, United States. In 2018, Gordon's album Go (Blue Note, 1962) was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". He also had a cameo role in the 1990 film Awakenings. Gordon was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the Bertrand Tavernier film Round Midnight ( Warner Bros, 1986), and he won a Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist, for the soundtrack album The Other Side of Round Midnight ( Blue Note Records, 1986). Cigarettes were a recurring theme on covers of Gordon's albums. One of his idiosyncratic rituals was to recite lyrics from each ballad before playing it.Ī photograph by Herman Leonard of Gordon taking a smoke break at the Royal Roost in 1948 is one of the iconic images in jazz photography. It was always a conversation simultaneously delightful and intellectual. His improvisation was remarkably engaging and intelligent, but never gratuitously complex or unusual. He was an advocate of playing to communicate with the audience, which was his musical approach as well. Gordon was known for his genial and humorous stage presence. Rollins and Coltrane then influenced Gordon's playing as he explored hard bop and modal playing during the 1960s. Gordon, in turn, was an early influence on John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. One of his major influences was Lester Young. This is not unusual in jazz improvisation, but Gordon did it frequently enough to make it a hallmark of his style. He was known for inserting musical quotes into his solos, with sources as diverse as " Happy Birthday" and well known melodies from the operas of Wagner. Gordon's sound was commonly characterized as being "large" and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat.
His studio and performance career spanned over 40 years.
Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm), so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and "Sophisticated Giant". He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell. Dexter Gordon (Febru– April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor.
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