Clubhouse [Original recording remastered]

Dexter Gordon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 20, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000NA289S
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,175 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of its kind, April 14, 2007

By 

nadav haber (jerusalem Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Clubhouse (Audio CD)

1965 was the year in which Coltrane was making his move away from his classic quartet into even more adventurous directions. It was the year Malcolm X was murdered. The Vietnam war was entering high gear. Recorded in 1965, the music of Dexter Gordon in this album continued to stay close to its essentials - great sound, hard swing, and good, harmony based - bebop inspired improvisations. Judged according to post-bop standards, this is almost a perfect recording. The rhythm section (Harris, Cranshaw and Higgins) create a unique sound, which for me is the most enjoyable sound in post-bop rhythm sections. Barry Harris' solos are perhaps the high point of this album - so tasteful and original. The playing of Freddy Hubbard has always been exceptional, as it is here. And Dexter Gordon proves again that he is one of the giants of tenor saxophone, and a standard by which future saxophone players will always be judged. His tone is both dark and bright, his sense of time so good. All the tunes are great, but I must refer to one small moment. In the ballad "I am a fool to want you", when Dexter returns after Hubbard's lyrical solo, he stops on one note, and then repeats it with a certain growl, which for me holds so much wisdom and human understanding, that I truly consider it one of the higher moments of recorded jazz. Of course I recommend that you listen and decide yourself...

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back in the "Clubhouse", April 5, 2007

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Clubhouse (Audio CD)

Until this recent RVG reissue, Dexter Gordon's "Clubhouse" had a checkered past. Recorded on May 27, 1965 during a visit stateside (and a day prior to Gettin' Around -- see my review), it was never released on vinyl until 1979, unearthed only after Dex's triumphant "Homecoming." Then it was released as a single CD in 1990, only to quickly land in the cut-out bins during the height of Capitol's Garth Brooks hysteria. It also appeared on Gordon's Complete Blue Note collection, which by now has been long out of print as well. Now "Clubhouse" finally finds a permanent place in the catalog, with new cover art to boot. This session features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and the remarkable rhythm trio of Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. That rhythm trio was the backbone of one of Blue Note's most famous recordings, Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder, and their chemistry here is as great as ever. The disc's highlights are the title track, a classic reading of "I'm A Fool to Want You," and the lovely original "Jodi." While not his finest moment on Blue Note, it's nonetheless great to have Dex back in the "Clubhouse."

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars D E X, August 10, 2007

By 

Jazzcat "stef" (Genoa, Italy Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clubhouse (Audio CD)

This album in my opinion is terrific. Even if the booklet from Blue Note says it's not good as the best Dex BN albums... Are they crazy? This album is stellar! My ears are telling me this! I can't understand how it had such an hard judgement initially, and a difficult story behind it, an "in an out" of the catalog story. If you consider that Clubhouse has been recorded in '65, in the middle of the Dexter's golden period, the years that produced his exceptional Blue Note records, well, you can imagine what a fantastic music may be in Clubhouse. One thing. It's not a live date, but a studio date. The title initially let me think about a concert, but it's not. Anyway, the first time I listen to it, it instantly blew me away! It is simply a perfect date. Everything is perfect and Dexter is in top form. The rhythmn section is nothing less than superb (Harris, Cranshaw and Higgins), the other soloist, Hubbard shines, the repertoire is very balanced and everything flows just right, with the right amount of funky and tenderness. In my opinion one of the best from dex, for real. I know it may sound like an overstatement, cause we're talking about Dex, one of the main jazz players ever that recorded exceptional records, but this one stands out believe me. It's absolutly lovely. Few words about the soft moments you'll find here. To me few players ever played a ballad like Dex used to do (especially among the modernists). And in "I'm a fool to want you" and in "Jodi" you can understand why I'm convinced of that. I mean, impressive musically and incredibly touching emotionally. But this album does not have standouts or weak moments. I agrre with the guys at AMG which called this "excellent music if not quite essential". It's huge. From the beginning to the end. Long, tall and proud.