Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A HIGH-SPIRITIED GALLOP, February 4, 2005
There are those who think the history of the jazz saxophone begins with Charlie Parker and ends with John Coltrane. They are entitled to their opinions; but such a narrow viewpoint leaves out far too many originals. Dexter Gordon for one. GO! was recorded along with SWING TIME in the later summer of 1962-just before Gordon's fifteen-year "exile" in Europe. Much has been made of Gordon finding Europeans more relaxed in racial distinctions and more hospitable toward jazz musicians in particular. I suppose this is all true; but New York's "performance tax", his two previous prison terms for drug use, and the shrinking number of outlets for "live" jazz also must have played a part. I also have to wonder if the Cuban "Missile Crisis" which followed these recordings provided an addition boot out the door.
The most important point to made of all this is Gordon left the United States just a few steps before the major social upheaval of the 1960's occurred. Gordon missed the sea change that transpired in popular culture as the baby boomers began to take the stage both literally and metaphorically. The United States Gordon came back to fifteen years later was a much different place than the one he left. While developments often went in parallel between America and Europe, the political and social upheavals had different meanings and outcomes. It is not as if Gordon stepped into a time capsule when he went to Europe to live; but expectations of him as an artist were different.
More interestingly, Gordon bypassed the "fusion" experiments in jazz and returned to the scene just as many were looking for a more `authentic" voice in jazz after enduring the bells and whistles of the "next big thing". Since his return and especially after his appearance in the movie `ROUND MIDNIGHT, there has been renewed interest in Gordon's back catalog. GO! is one of the most prominent albums in this popular revival.
The liner notes give one the impression that these recordings were made under somewhat rushed circumstances. If that is so, they don't sound like it. From the very first notes we are treated to a very keen and snappy set of six pieces. Jazz saxophone albums sometimes have a reputation for being slow and sad affairs-more suited to rainy afternoons of quiet introspection. There is none of that here. Gordon and company catch your attention with a high-spirited gallop appropriate for an evening of joyous dancing.
In "Cheese Cake", "Second Balcony Jump", "Three O'Clock In The Morning" and even Cole Porter's "Love For Sale" throws one back to times when people danced to jazz instead of sitting down in quiet contemplation. Indeed, such is the tempo and attitude displayed here that there is something about these performances that reminded me of the 1940's instead of the early 1960's. Gordon's sax playing is bright and warmly assertive to the point that it rises to the level of graceful singing-not just honking out notes. Sammy Clark matches Gordon's fiery displays with sharp articulation on the piano that threatens to steal the show at every turn. If you haven't discovered what an absolutely wonderful drummer Bill Higgins was on Charles Lloyd's last few CDs, check him out here as he shows that even as a relatively young man he knew how to let you marvel at his talent and yet throw the spotlight on other players. Anchoring all these is the steady and solid upright bass playing of Butch Warren. Bass playing is often an unheralded role in any ensemble and in the presence of fantastic fellow band members it must be tempting to play at a level of just "good enough". There is no "good enough" effort with Warren here. Instead Warren rolls, rises and dives in tandem with Higgins with a sensitive ear toward Gordon and Smith.
Even the two "ballads", "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" and "Where Are You", are taken at a clip that is just under the excitement of the four faster pieces mentioned above. The melancholy normally associated with these songs gives way to a cool and confident reading that only slows down the pace of the album a bit. "Where Are You" is a song I typically associate with Frank Sinatra and if I'm not missing my guess Gordon is taking his reading from Sinatra himself. In both versions the actual music resembles more the lilting, gliding motion of a feather drifting through the air. It is only in the very lyrics themselves the hearer perceives the broken glass of dashing hopes. Gordon's playing shakes the song's normal mood from its sadness and pumps it up into a vehicle of high altitude grace.
Finally, this is an outstanding recording sonically. I cannot say whether the achievement rests in the original recording (although even with today's digital bells and whistles there is only so much that can be done with a poor source tape.) or in the transfer from analog to digital production. But this is another demonstration how good high quality monophonic sound could be in those years before stereo became the industry standard. The sound is alive and "hot" as each instrument is distinct and can be clearly discerned from each other.
GO! deserves all the raptures that have come its way. While taking nothing away from Parker or Coltrane it will add another dimension to your appreciation of music. The only "down:" side is that most will feel that the CD's under forty minutes length is much too short.
|
|
|
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Master of Melody (and tone!), January 18, 2005
Clocking in around 37 minutes (and no alternate takes/previously unreleased stuff), this isn't one of the longest RVGs you'll ever buy, but it certainly is a great one! I too am a bit dismayed at seeing this one panned as "diet jazz". Following too closely to the melody line seems an odd criticism for this disc, to me. Dexter is melodic as all (!!!!), but they are his own melodies, spiraling out of his horn on the spot. He isn't just riffing on the "head melody" over and over again. Not even close. His melodic invention here is actually quite fantastic... from masterfully placed (and played with) quotes, to just straight-up building out from the starting point. As far as I am concerned, this disc is easily one of the main reasons that Dexter Gordon is a tenor legend.
Based on previous reviews, Cheese Cake seems to be the big hit here but the two tracks that really take the cake for me are Love For Sale and Three O'Clock in the Morning. This Love For Sale is a giant. One of my favorites. One of the biggest disappointments of this disc is that there aren't one or two alternate takes of Love For Sale included here. Of course the reasoning is understandable. If this was the first take then there was no reason for any one in attendance (band, producer, engineer) to think a 2nd take was needed, as this first one is a masterpiece.
It is indeed true that if you're in the market for one of the more "progressive" Blue Notes along the lines of Out To Lunch or Fuchsia Swing Song or Contours, this may not be for you at this very minute. This isn't blazing any new trails, punching down any walls and letting a whole new world view shine in through the cracks. Nope. This is just killin', hard-swinging, straight-ahead bop by the top-notch band of Dexter, Sonny Clark, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins. Dexter's tone and absolute mastery of the art of melodic improvisation are on full display here.
Did I mention that the sound on this one is excellent, too? I have to mention that I didn't have any pre-RVG versions of this though, so I don't know to what degree the sound is improved. I just know I love what I have.
At this stage in his life, this wasn't a guy thinking he should still be trying to change the world, but he most certainly was a guy who could tell some amazing melodic stories with his horn. When I say that, don't be thinking this is museum jazz played by a guy doing the same thing he'd been doing for 20 years! You'll notice that Dexter had indeed absorbed some of the newer things that the younger generation of tenor players were doing... and he uses them to great effect. If you're a jazz fan and you can afford it, there is no reason why this disc shouldn't be in your collection.
|
|
|
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GO get it!, March 11, 2001
I bought GO a couple of months ago, listened to it, loved it. I listened to it again recently and loved it even more. It's puzzling to me when I see "essential" jazz recording lists, GO rarely appears. Well, it makes my essential list and has easily pushed it's way into my top 10. From the exultant opening blow of "Cheese Cake" to the stunning ballad "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" you realize you are hearing a musician "in the zone" who has complete command of his talent and is evoking it here at will. As the liner notes state, "Dexter soars like a condor over the Andes, with grandeur and great staying power." This also contains my favorite recording of "Love For Sale." There is not a wasted note on this album. It's like witnessing a baseball pitcher throwing a perfect game.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Hank Mobley
~ Dexter Gordon
~ Lee Morgan
~ Art Blakey
~ Cannonball Adderley
by Dexter Gordon 
