Customer Reviews

Our Man in Paris

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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At first, Dexter Gordon's "Our Man in Paris" seems an unlikely choice for the RVG series, because Rudy Van Gelder didn't record it in the first place. Unlike most Blue Note albums which were recorded in Van Gelder's studios, first in Hackensack then Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, this one was recorded in Paris (5/23/63) by Claude Ermelin, as Dexter Gordon two years earlier had traded in his New York address for France. Maybe Mr. Van Gelder thought that through remastering, he could fix the minor sound deficiencies that had plagued an otherwise perfect album. Well, the new issue does sound fantastic! This date, featuring fellow expatriates Bud Powell and Kenny Clarke, along with Pierre Michelot, was originally supposed to feature Kenny Drew on piano, and a program of all new material penned by Gordon. Powell was called in at the last minute, but he wanted to only record standards on such short notice. In classic jazz fashion, a potential disaster turned into one of the most magical performances in the Blue Note catalog. Welcome back from Paris Dex, and Rudy thanks for adding your two francs.

This session is a meeting between three of the most influential musicians of the forties (Dexter, Bud Powell and Kenny Clarke as "Americans in Paris"), completed by the great french bassist Pierre Michelot. At this really happy date the musicians decided to play tunes, that go back to the time, when those guys first gigged and recorded together, like Parker's "Scrapple from the Apple". But especially about Dexter's playing it can be said, that he had modified his style during the sixties, absorbing ideas from musicians, who originally had been influenced by him (listen to some very Coltrane-ish licks on "Night in Tunisia"). Actually, Dexter once stated, that he was thrilled by that kind of mutual exchange of ideas: First he had been a main source of influence for the early John Coltrane and later, especially during the time of this recordings (1963), Dexter further developed his style using some of Coltrane's ideas. Besides the above mentioned faster tunes, I expecially like "Willow Weep for Me" with it's nice intro and that kind of blues-feeling and of course the beautiful ballad "Stairway to the Stars". Bud Powell, almost at the end of his career, still plays very inspired. Expecially during those years in Paris, Bud was at his best on encounters with other great Americans, who visited Europe or temporarly lived there.

I've given up trying to choose my favorite Dexter album, because it's always the one I happen to be playing. I thought I might be able to pass this one up--not close enough to the culmination of Dexter's resurgence, too late in Bud's career, too far from the Blue Note studios, too dependent on a French (or expatriate) rhythm section.

Strike all of the above. Dexter never played with "abandon," but this recording is probably as close as he comes to it. He's on fire for each of the tunes, complete and fresh phrases flowing from his horn in musical narratives containing more than the usual number of serendipitous quotes and allusions. At times it seems like no end is in sight, as the master storyteller is in Homeric, epic form. He handles the four-bar break on "Night in Tunisia" as impressively as Bird but with half the number of notes.

I wouldn't call the performances on this album superior to Dexter's "Love for Sale" (on "Go!"), "Tanya" or "King Neptune" (on "One Flight Up") or "Body and Soul" (on "The Panther"), but it's definitely in the same league and should be essential not just for fans of L.T. but for anyone who's serious about the art of improvisation.

Powell loses his place a couple of times (forgetting whether he's on the first, second or fourth chorus of a 32-bar song) but makes quick, virtually undetectable recoveries. Moreover, his fingering is precise, his melodic lines fluid and complex yet swinging. And the fact that the original recording was made by a French engineer insures that the piano, though somewhat distorted (see below), has a "realistic" or personal and natural quality distinguishing it from the usual Blue Note piano sound.

Count this one among Dexter's top 3-4 recordings, which is high praise indeed for a player as consistently brilliant as he. Dexter in Paris must be the next best thing to April in Paris. If there's a caveat, it's the quality of the audio. I was so hopeful that the "RVG Remastered Edition" would be an improvement over both the LP and preceding CD version, that I shelled out for the session for a third time. Disappointingly, Dexter's tenor still sounds compressed, compartmentalized, and even grating, and Bud's piano still carries that trace of distortion. In spite of these obstacles, the substance of this recording simply will not be denied.

Here is a very very essential album.One of Blue Note's most essential records.Paris,May 23,1963: Dexter Gordon,ts,Bud Powell,p,Kenny Clarke,dms and top french jazz bass player,Pierre Michelot,the only survivor of this outstanding quartet;or Dex meets the "Three Bosses",as the Bud/Klook/Michelot trio was called.Initially,Dexter should have recorded with Kenny Drew a set of tunes of his own;but it was decided to hire Bud,who was living in Paris the last years of his very short life,and logically,Michelot and Clarke followed.The bunch of new tunes written by Dex were forgotten,and everybody chose to play standards.Bud,among several troubles,could hardly learn new things at this time;but he was a giant when he was asked to play his repertoire,and the proof is here.Put together one of the most magnificent disciples of both Pres and Bird,the most awesome pianist with Hines and Tatum,and the father of modern jazz drumming,son of Jo Jones,add one of the best french musicians on bass,and you'll get some sublime music.Here may be Dexter Gordon's most magnificent album;his Lesterian roots meet some Golson and even Rollins' and Coltrane's influences ("Night in Tunisia");
his swing is purely incredible;Kenny Clarke's drumming is simply out of this world,so simple and yet so hardly swinging;maybe the most essential jazz drumming with Jo Jones' and Sam Woodyard's.And Pierre Michelot's bass support is really a very great one.
What about the tunes ? Here are essential versions of Bird's "scrapple from the apple",Dizzy's "Night in Tunisia",here is a sublime version of the incredible Ann Ronnell's evergreen,"willow weep for me",including superb solos by Bud and Pierre,here is the old "Broadway",in which Bud salutes Basie (the final notes),here are wonderful ballads,"stairway to the stars","our love is here to stay",and finally here is a trio track by the "Three Bosses","like someone in love",one of Bud's favorites.
Listening again to this album,it seems almost incredible to me to think that this music was recorded 40 years ago.It sounds more and more younger than most of today's jazz records.Here is not only Dexter's best effort,here is one of the most essential records of the history of jazz; a mixture of classical,Kansas City oriented music (Dexter's blowing will reminds you of Lester,Hershell Evans,Illinois Jacquet,Buddy Tate) and post-bop music (shades of Golson,Trane);Kenny Clarke,one of the monuments of jazz drumming with the Father,Jo Jones,and the disciples,Woodyard,Haynes,Blakey,Elvin J.,Butler,Lenny McBrowne,Roy Brooks,Ed Thigpen,Roach,etc,Kenny Clarke is at his most magnificent playing.Here is a gem in Blue Note's amazing catalog.Something you have to listen to !!!

Of all the albums Dexter did after the bebop era, this does the best job of giving the listener that same feeling that people got from listening to him back in the '40s. I'd say that this is primarily due to his choice of personnel on this particular date in Paris, which inlcudes the amazing Bud Powell on piano, an amazing French bassist named Pierre Michelot, and the one of the greatest jazz drummers from the bebop era, Kenny Clarke. The choice of tunes for this album also has to do with maintaining that feeling, since two of the tunes were Charlie Parker staples ("Scrapple from the Apple" and "A Night in Tunisia"), one was one of THE tunes to know in the '40s ("Broadway"),and two lovely ballads that were covered a lot during that time ("Willow Weep for Me", which has a very laid-back feeling to it that is the most unique Dexter ballad performance I've ever heard, and his lovely interpretation of "Stairway to the Stars", which has a very similar feeling to his ballad performances on "Go!"). Added to this superb album are two bonus tracks (Gershwin's classic, "Our Love is Here to Stay", and a wonderful trio reading of "Like Someone in Love", which shows off Powell's skills greatly.) Overall, if you are a fan of Charlie Parker, old Dexter from the '40's, or just a plain out jazz fan, "Our Man in Paris" is for you.

Dexter Gordon was at one of his peaks with his Blue Note sessions of the early 60s that included such awesome accompanists as Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins (Go, A Swingin' Affair), Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones (Dexter Calling) and Horace Parlan, George Tucker, and Al Harewood (Doin' Alright). When he landed in Europe in 1963, he hooked up with a trio composed of Bud Powell (p), Pierre Michelot (b), and Kenny Clarke (d). That trio was a cohesive unit that recorded some excellent music, as the two trio tracks show. One bright spot is Bud Powell, well into his final decline, sounding better than he had in some years. The transition from playing as a piano-based trio to accompanying Dexter with his dynamic, galloping, uptempo style was not a smooth one. The rhythm section seems out of the groove and not quite swinging in trying to keep up with Dexter. A lot of Clarke's accents seem like random crashing around that doesn't really build the musical dynamics. The quartet session did produce two ballad tracks that are in my opinion among Dexter's best ever: Willow Weep for Me and Stairway to the Stars. Stairway in particular reaches rare emotional heights. Dexter also lays down an awesome, push-the-edge, Coltrane-ish solo in A Night in Tunisia and the rhythmic flaws seem less distracting than on the other uptempo tracks.

In summary, there are some excellent tracks and some deeply flawed ones on this album. I find the overall listening experience less satisfying than with Dexter's other albums of the same era. But if you already have his other early-to-mid 60s Blue Note albums, there are enough gems to make it worthwhile.

There is a lot to like about this CD. Recorded in Paris with Kenny Clarke and Pierre Michelot as the rhythm section, this captures a flavor and sound of jazz that, while certainly not uncommon, was starting to lose its influence thanks to John Coltrane redefining the concept of saxophone jazz. But this recording takes things back to the roots of saxophone jazz, with the first six tracks of this recording being completely unapologetic about featuring virtually nothing but Gordon's lively, full tone sax, both to lay down the melody and then to pick up the solos. The effect is that you get a LOT of saxophone, and it is recorded very "hot", so the vibrancy and richness of Gordon's tenor comes right out and stomps on everything. I'm not much of a jazz historian (yet), but to me, this is sort of the definitive jazz saxophone music and sound that I expect from a saxphone player. Which is not to say that the sax rules all else, because in addition to the aforementioned rhythm section, you have the always exciting Bud Powell on piano. And what really makes this CD for me is that unlike Bud Powell's own recordings, this one is not riddled with hiss and pops and other noise. You still get Bud muttering and singing here and there (which never bothered me that much), but with Rudy Van Gelder's (always reliable) remastering, the instruments are equalized just right, leaving Dexter's sax out front and Bud's piano in the back, that way it should be. Until, that is, you get to track seven, "Like Someone in Love", which starts off and ends up with Bud Powell soloing on piano, and lets him lead the way through the song. Again, for me, this is perfect, because just when I think I've had about enough of the sax, Gordon sits out the majority of the song so the incredible and fascinating lyricism that Powell creates on the piano becomes the exclamation point to the session. I don't give five stars casually, but I don't see how I can give this anything less than the highest possible rating. It's a fantastic piece of jazz music that belongs in the collection of all jazz fans, sax fans, and Gordon fans. It would also make a good choice for broadening a musical collection that is not jazz oriented, as it is very approachable and does not require a "jazz ear" to enjoy. Highly recommended.

Dexter says it all! His command of the tenor is amazing and his unique voice is instantly identifiable. The sound that he produces is well focussed and in tune, but he can manipulate it in many ways. His phrasings are musical and directed forward. Players can learn a lot from his recordings.

I'm enjoying this CD. Unfortunately I can't elaborate in terms of the composition and harmonic balance, etc because I'm not that sophisticated a listener, but I feel he's a fantastic musician and this CD captures the spirit of his genius well.

This 1963 album finds Dexter Gordon in sparkling form. He is backed by Bud Powell on Piano, Pierre Michelot bass and Kenny Clarke drums. Its one of the best sessions Gordon ever recorded and is an essential purchase for any Jazz fan.

Dexter Gordon is in fine form throughout the album. Just take the opening Charlie Parker classic 'Scrapple from the Apple'. The theme is stated and Gordon takes the first solo. Three and a half minutes later he finishes. Theres no apparent repetition here, or use of a stock of standard riffs that you might hear with a lesser musician. Throughout this solo he is inventive using the full range of the Saxophones marvellous palette. The other stand-out track on here for me is his version of 'A Night in Tunisia'. Whether he's throwing in a quote from 'Summertime' or bending notes on this form Gordon was up there with the very best. On a few moments in his solo on Tunisia I was reminded of Coltranes Soprano solos. Whilst there is no doubt that in his early career Gordon was an undoubted influence on Coltrane I wonder if at this stage Gordon was actually being influenced by Coltrane.

Its worth mentioning the appearance of Bud Powell on the album. He was the most important Jazz pianist before Bill Evans arrived in the late 1950's. Sadly he suffered from mental health problems and his playing later in his career (from the late 1950's onwards) could be erratic. On this recording he isn't the whirlwind of 10 years earlier, but his playing is mostly consistent and considered of sufficient standard for 'Like Someone In Love' to be put out as a bonus track on the CD.