Customer Reviews

Dexter Gordon: A Musical Biography (Da Capo Paperback)

5 star:		(4)
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Well written account of Dex's life. In contrast to some jazz biographies, it doesn't get mired in a repetitive account of lineups, gigs, and recording dates. Rather, Britt manages to flesh out Dexter well, emphasizing his inimitable physical presence and huge tone. One criticism would be an over-reliance on long quotations from critics and other jazzmen, but most of these offer interesting glimpses of the artist. I give it five stars because this is the only book of its kind and it is ably written. A nice little volume for all of Dexter's fans. Long live LTD!

This book explains how Dexter Gordon was born in Los Angeles. His father was one of the few black dentists in the 1920's. Dexter said he wanted to learn how to play the clarinet like his father. His father agreed as long as he took music theory lessons as well. As a teenager he switched to tenor saxophone and the rest as they say is history. He got his big break with the Lionel Hampton big band on tour. During that tour he learned a lot from Illinois Jaquette who was playing 1st tenor. Eventually he made as many recordings as Stan Getz. He moved to Europe and settled in Copehagen, Denmark. He finally came back to the "States" and acted in some movies. For example: "'Round Midnight" and "Awakenings." Dexter is in a video called "Jazz in Exile" which you can buy through The Saxophone Journal. If you have any experiences with Dexter Gordon, please e-mail me.

Tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was a seminal figure in modern jazz; his huge, magisterial tone was awe-inspiring, especially when heard on slow ballads. Influenced by the stylings of Lester Young, combined with the musical vocabulary of bebop, Gordon produced some of the most memorable jazz performances during the bop/hard bop era. Stan Britt does a good job of relating the Gordon story. The first half of the book is a fairly straight-forward account of Dexter's life, from the Central Avenue scene in LA, where he grew up; to his first professional gigs with Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, and Billy Eckstine; to his association with Wardell Gray and Charlie Parker; to his drug problems in the early '50s; to his expatriate days in Europe; and finally to his re-emergence on the American jazz scene with his return to NYC in 1976 and the making of the movie ROUND MIDNIGHT. Discussion of Gordon's recordings are removed from the chronology and gathered in a final chapter; I'm not sure I agree with this decision and think perhaps more constructive commentary would have been made of the recordings if Britt had placed them within the biographical text - a la Jack Chambers's approach in his superb biography of Miles Davis (MILESTONES). There is a fairly comprehensive discography, however, of studio dates on which Dexter plays. Britt is a good writer, and though obviously a devotee of Gordon's playing, he casts a critical eye where appropriate and refuses to write as an idolater. Recommended.

This book was a great biography on the man, Dexter Gordon. Gordon is one of the most underated musicians in jazz history, and it is good that the truth about this man's greatness is finally being told. I recomend this book to anyone who loves Dexter as much as I do.