5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Dexter Gordon
The New York Times••entertainment
Key Points:
- Dexter Gordon, known as the "Sophisticated Giant," was a tall, debonair tenor saxophonist celebrated for his effortless power and profound sincerity, especially in his ballad performances where he played with a unique rhythmic style.
- Growing up in Los Angeles during the Great Depression, Gordon was influenced by his father, a prominent Black physician connected to jazz legends, and became a leading figure in the 1940s bebop movement.
- His career included notable stints with bands led by Billy Eckstine and Louis Armstrong, a difficult period marked by incarceration in the 1950s, and a resurgence in the early 1960s with classic Blue Note recordings.
- Gordon spent over a decade in Europe, living in Paris and
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