As I've mentioned before, the sound of the tenor saxophone is what initially drew me to jazz and that sound (or, I should say "sounds," as each great player has a unique voice) remains one of the things I love most about the music.  And, despite my admiration for the playing (and sounds) of Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and countless others, when I hear a tenor sax in my head, I hear Dexter Gordon

By melding the huge tone and swagger of Coleman Hawkins with the melodic and rhythmic sensibilities of Lester Young and the harmonic advances of Charlie Parker, Gordon became the first great bebop tenor player and a key influence on the playing of both John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.   I regularly listen to recordings from across the span of Gordon's career, starting with his great early sides for Savoy and Dial in the 1940's, through his wonderful albums for Blue Note in the 60's his triumphant return to the U.S. in the mid-70's and his swan song on the soundtrack for the motion picture 'Round Midnight, in which Dexter starred...and received an Oscar nomination for best leading actor (!!!).  But I've selected this recording with pianist Junior Mance from the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970, as it is a great example of Dexter at his swinging, shouting best.

From the opening notes of the first tune, Gordon's "Fried Bananas," you'll hear Dexter's distinctive sound: a bold, brassy and broad tone matched with a sophisticated harmonic sense, a laid-back rhythmic feel that often finds him playing slightly behind the beat, boundless energy, a masculine romanticism and a sense of humor (demonstrated by his numerous "quotes" of other pop songs within his solos...the musical equivalent of puns).  The album has a mix of strong tunes, including two by Monk, and two wonderful ballads, Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" and that great test piece for all tenor men, "Body and Soul" (see All That Jazz #5), here using the rhythmic vamp first deployed by Coltrane in his recording of the tune (instead of each 8 beats feeling like they are divided into 2 equal measures of 4 beats each, each 8 beats is organized into 3 groups: 1-2-3/1-2-3/1-2).  Mance (piano), Martin Rivera (bass) and Oliver Jackson (drums) provide strong support throughout, but I keep coming back to this album to hear Long Tall Dexter and to refresh that tenor sound of my imagination.