SOPHISTICATED GIANT: The Life and Legacy of Dexter Gordon
Maxine Gordon
261 Pages
ISBN: #9780520280649
University of California Press
If you have ever seen the film ‘Round Midnight’ directed by Bertrand Tavernier then you will have an image of Dexter Gordon embossed on your cortex. Dexter gave an almost Oscar-winning performance by not acting at all! Everything was perfect, his musical drawl, his languid movements. Just listen to any of his live recordings where he talks an intro. He enunciates so deliberately, so sloooow and he is so cooool that he is almost in a different time zone, or alternative reality. In many ways, Dexter was the embodiment of what people imagine a jazz musician to be. His wife, Maxine Gordon, in the book, tells us what he really was.
Dexter was a large figure in every sense of the word. Tall, he was 6 feet 6 and his sound from his tenor was as wide as an estuary. His knowledge of the popular music of his time was encyclopedic and he inserted many quotes from the wide variety of the music that he loved into his solos, making it a feature of his style.
The outline facts of Dexter’s life are simple: born in Los Angeles, father a doctor, worked with Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, recorded on Dial and Savoy Records, had a serious drug problem, went to prison, left for Europe, made a triumphant return to the US, made a film, was nominated for an Oscar.
Dexter was not an innovator in the vein of Armstrong, Davis, Parker, Coltrane. He was just brilliant at what he did. Initially influenced by Lester Young, he once told Basie that his one regret was not playing in the Basie Band. The influence on Lester was always there and his playing of ballads was always moving and lucid.
Maxine Gordon is a remarkable woman who was with Dexter after her relationship to Woody Shaw finished. Her background in show business management gives her an insight into the world that Dexter inhabited. Unusually, she hones in on contracts, on remuneration, the business side of jazz. We are told That Teddy Reig paid Dexter $10 for an advance on his second record. She gives a full account of Dexter’s break with Steeplechase records when Dexter returned to the USA and acquired a contract with Columbia. Throughout the book, she uses Dexter’s notes and letters and anecdotes. When a jazz playing character is introduced into the story we are given a detailed background making the book an indispensable commentary on the jazz of that time.
Apparently, Dexter did not like to talk about the nineteen fifties, his lost decade. He was badly addicted and because of that, he spent time in jail. Maxine does not shy away from that and she writes about incidents that Dexter would have preferred her to have avoided as well as making a critical attack on the punitive ways that addicts are sometimes treated.
Maxine is scholarly without being tedious. Her research is impressive and detailed. She chronicles friendships and events that were before her time. Dexter’s relationships with women, his friendship with Ben Webster are revealing, His frequent conversations with Miles Davis are intriguing.
One of the most detailed sections is around the making of ‘Round Midnight’. Maxine Gordon was an important part of Dexter’s life at this juncture and the chapter devoted to the creation of the film is full of detail. We also learn about Maxine’s role in ensuring that Dexter was placed back in the US mainstream and recognised as the important figure that his achievements entitled him to.
Maxine Gordon tells us that ‘Writing a book on Dexter Gordon requires skills and study in historical method and African American history. After all, the story is not just about picking up the saxophone and going on the road with Lionel Hampton. The story is much larger and it is important to understand the cultural context from which Dexter developed to understand who he was and what he strove for in his life.’
She has achieved her aim. This is an essential read about a great tenor player that tells us much that was not well known and portrays one of the most interesting periods in jazz. Working with jazz musicians for years has given Maxine Gordon a unique insight. Hopefully, the success of this book will encourage her to write more.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
261 Pages
ISBN: #9780520280649
University of California Press
If you have ever seen the film ‘Round Midnight’ directed by Bertrand Tavernier then you will have an image of Dexter Gordon embossed on your cortex. Dexter gave an almost Oscar-winning performance by not acting at all! Everything was perfect, his musical drawl, his languid movements. Just listen to any of his live recordings where he talks an intro. He enunciates so deliberately, so sloooow and he is so cooool that he is almost in a different time zone, or alternative reality. In many ways, Dexter was the embodiment of what people imagine a jazz musician to be. His wife, Maxine Gordon, in the book, tells us what he really was.
Dexter was a large figure in every sense of the word. Tall, he was 6 feet 6 and his sound from his tenor was as wide as an estuary. His knowledge of the popular music of his time was encyclopedic and he inserted many quotes from the wide variety of the music that he loved into his solos, making it a feature of his style.
The outline facts of Dexter’s life are simple: born in Los Angeles, father a doctor, worked with Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, recorded on Dial and Savoy Records, had a serious drug problem, went to prison, left for Europe, made a triumphant return to the US, made a film, was nominated for an Oscar.
Dexter was not an innovator in the vein of Armstrong, Davis, Parker, Coltrane. He was just brilliant at what he did. Initially influenced by Lester Young, he once told Basie that his one regret was not playing in the Basie Band. The influence on Lester was always there and his playing of ballads was always moving and lucid.
Maxine Gordon is a remarkable woman who was with Dexter after her relationship to Woody Shaw finished. Her background in show business management gives her an insight into the world that Dexter inhabited. Unusually, she hones in on contracts, on remuneration, the business side of jazz. We are told That Teddy Reig paid Dexter $10 for an advance on his second record. She gives a full account of Dexter’s break with Steeplechase records when Dexter returned to the USA and acquired a contract with Columbia. Throughout the book, she uses Dexter’s notes and letters and anecdotes. When a jazz playing character is introduced into the story we are given a detailed background making the book an indispensable commentary on the jazz of that time.
Apparently, Dexter did not like to talk about the nineteen fifties, his lost decade. He was badly addicted and because of that, he spent time in jail. Maxine does not shy away from that and she writes about incidents that Dexter would have preferred her to have avoided as well as making a critical attack on the punitive ways that addicts are sometimes treated.
Maxine is scholarly without being tedious. Her research is impressive and detailed. She chronicles friendships and events that were before her time. Dexter’s relationships with women, his friendship with Ben Webster are revealing, His frequent conversations with Miles Davis are intriguing.
One of the most detailed sections is around the making of ‘Round Midnight’. Maxine Gordon was an important part of Dexter’s life at this juncture and the chapter devoted to the creation of the film is full of detail. We also learn about Maxine’s role in ensuring that Dexter was placed back in the US mainstream and recognised as the important figure that his achievements entitled him to.
Maxine Gordon tells us that ‘Writing a book on Dexter Gordon requires skills and study in historical method and African American history. After all, the story is not just about picking up the saxophone and going on the road with Lionel Hampton. The story is much larger and it is important to understand the cultural context from which Dexter developed to understand who he was and what he strove for in his life.’
She has achieved her aim. This is an essential read about a great tenor player that tells us much that was not well known and portrays one of the most interesting periods in jazz. Working with jazz musicians for years has given Maxine Gordon a unique insight. Hopefully, the success of this book will encourage her to write more.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
