Tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon began his career in 1940 playing with the Lionel Hampton band, with which he recorded in 1942. After his stint with Hampton, Gordon made his first recordings as the leader of a quintet that featured Nat "King" Cole as a sideman on piano. He then played briefly with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and with Louis Armstrong before moving to New York in 1944 where he appeared with Billy Eckstine’s big band. Through his playing with Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Fats Navarro (to name a few) Gordon soon became recognized as one of the leaders of the bop movement.
Gordon then alternated between the East and West coasts, performing with Tadd Dameron and joining fellow tenor player Wardell Gray for a much celebrated series of "saxophone duels" between the years 1947 and 1952. Most of his activities throughout the remainder of the 1950s were curtailed by his problems with drug addiction. In 1960, with his drug problems resolved, Gordon served as actor, musician, and composer in the West Coast production of Jack Gebler’s play The Connection. After this, Gordon began recording and performing principally as a leader and moved back to New York in 1962.
In 1962 he toured Europe where he would remain for the next 15 years. In the 1960s Gordon presided over a number of excellent sessions for the Blue Note label including the marvelous Our Man In Paris. This session included fellow expatriates pianist Bud Powell and drummer Kenny Clarke. In 1976 Gordon returned to New York and played some very successful engagements one of which resulted in the fine recording Homecoming. Encouraged by his auspicious return, Gordon remained in the United States permanently. In 1986 he starred in the movie ‘Round Midnight (a film dedicated to Bud Powell and Lester Young) for which he received an Academy Award nomination. With this film role, interest in Gordon resurged once again.
Gordon’s playing was heavily influenced by Lester Young and, to a lesser degree, by Illinois Jacquet. He had a rich, broad, tone and infectious behind-the-beat phrasing. His use of quotes in soloing was some of the best in recorded jazz. Gordon’s playing evolved with the times and he would be influenced by Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, both of whom had originally been influenced by him. .
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