Dexter Gordon Gettin' Around CD

Personnel: Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone); Barry Harris (piano); Bob Cranshaw (bass); Billy Higgins (drums).
Producer: Alfred Lion.
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 28 & 29, 1965. Includes liner notes by Ira Gitler.
Personnel: Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Dexter Gordon; Bob Cranshaw (upright bass); Barry Harris (piano); Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone); Billy Higgins (drums).
Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder.
Liner Note Author: Bob Blumenthal.
Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (05/28/1965-05/29/1965).
Dexter Gordon's mid-'60s period living in Europe also meant coming back to the U.S. for the occasional recording session. His teaming with Bobby Hutcherson was intriguing in that the vibraphonist was marking his territory as a maverick and challenging improviser. Here the two principals prove compatible in that they have a shared sense of how to create sheer beauty in a post-bop world. Add the brilliant Barry Harris to this mix, and that world is fortunate enough to hear these grand masters at their creative peak, stoked by equally extraordinary sidemen like bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Billy Higgins, all on loan from Lee Morgan's hitmaking combo. The subtle manner in which Gordon plays melodies or caresses the most recognizable standard has always superseded his ability to ramble through rough-and-tumble bebop. It's hard to resist how Gordon massages the light and sweet bossa nova "Manha de Carnaval" hand in hand with Hutcherson, the heartfelt way "Who Can I Turn To?" or "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is turned into a personalized statement, or how the co-leaders take Frank Foster's Count Basie staple, "Shiny Stockings," beyond a classic and into immortal territory. Where Gordon and Hutcherson's true strength lies is in their ability to listen and balance their sound into a unified whole beyond any other tenor sax-vibraphone combination you might care to name, unless it's Hutch's partnership in the ensuing years with Harold Land. Picking up on a Sonny Rollins idea, "Heartaches" is a loping cowboy-type swinger with some lustrous comping from Hutcherson and Harris, while the light, cat-prancing "Le Coiffeur" is the highlight among highlights, a stealth calypso with Gordon's deftly rendered staccato notation. One has to listen closer to the pianist on this date, as he buoys the others without demanding equal space, but he is just as reverberant. While this is not Gordon's ultimate hard bop date, it is reflective of his cooling out in Europe, adopting a tonal emphasis more under the surface than in your face. It's not essential, but quite enjoyable, and does mark a turning point in his illustrious career. [The CD version contains two bonus tracks, including the Onzy Matthews composition "Very Saxily Yours" with a melody very similar to "Shiny Stockings," Hutcherson alone during a second chorus, and a classy quarter-to-eighth note solo by Gordon. Ben Tucker's "Flick of a Trick" is added on, an 11-minute groove blues that lets Harris cut loose, digging in after-hours style.] ~ Michael G. Nastos
After two Blue Note LPs recorded in Europe (his adopted home since 1962), Gordon finally made it back to the States to record this mid-Sixties release. Curiously, the two previously unreleased tunes seem slightly out of place with the rest of the record, and feel more akin to the kind of work Gordon's labelmates were releasing at the time. "Flick of a Trick" is a sultry, walking eight-bar blues, while "Very Saxily Yours," distinguishes itself from the standards here by virtue of its riffing melody and use of hits during the head.
Having said that, part of the appeal of Gordon's approach is the way this album is built from standards. There's a sense of getting down to basics, from the passion and depths that can come out in a ballad to the sheer joy of swinging hard on the uptempo tunes. "Le Coiffeur" now sounds a lMojo (Publisher) (p.129) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "An excellent ballad'n'bop offering....Easy-swingin' and soulful."