Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm), so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and "Sophisticated Giant". He played a Conn 10M Lady Face until 1964. He lost the instrument in a Paris hotel and then switched over to a Selmer Mark VI. His saxophone, seen in various photos, was fitted with an Otto Link metal mouthpiece.
In 1986, Dexter Gordon was named a member and officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture in France. His performance in Round Midnight (Warner Bros, 1986) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Leading Role and he won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack. On April 25, 1990, Dexter Gordon died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Gordon was born and grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a doctor who counted Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton among his patients. He played clarinet from the age of 13, before switching to saxophone (initially alto, then tenor) at 15. While still at school, he was playing in bands with such contemporaries as Chico Hamilton and Buddy Collette.
Between 1940 and 1943, Gordon was a member of Lionel Hampton's band, playing in a saxophone section alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshall Royal. In 1943 he made his first recordings under his own name, alongside Nat Cole and Harry 'Sweets' Edison. During 1943-44 he featured in the Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson bands, before joining Billy Eckstine.
By 1945, Gordon had left the Eckstine band and was resident in New York, where he was performing and recording with Charlie Parker, as well as recording under his own name. Gordon was particularly known for his saxophone duels with fellow tenorman Wardell Gray that were a popular live attraction which were documented in recordings made between 1947 and 1952.
Gordon's sound was commonly characterized as being 'large' and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat. One of his major influences was Lester Young. Gordon, in turn, was an early influence on John Coltrane during the 1940s and 1950s. Coltrane's playing, however, during his early period from the mid to late '50s or early '60s influenced Gordon's playing from then onward. Similarities in their styles include their clear, strong, metallic tones, their tendencies to bend up to high notes, and their abilities to single-tongue and still swing. One of Gordon's idiosyncrasies was to recite the lyrics of each ballad before playing it.
Gordon was performing Freddie Redd's music for the Los Angeles production of Jack Gelber's play The Connection in 1960, replacing Jackie McLean. Around this time, he signed to Blue Note Records, an association that was to produce a steady flow of albums for several years: Doin' Allright, Dexter Calling..., Go, and A Swingin' Affair. The first two, his Blue Note debuts, were recorded over three days in May 1961 with Freddie Hubbard, Horace Parlan and others. The last two were recorded in August 1962, just before Gordon left for his extended stay in Europe, with a rhythm section that featured Blue Note regulars Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins. During the next few years, Gordon would record again for Blue Note. During this time he would be a big advocate of Onzy Matthews and be one of the initial sax players to start Matthews' big band in 1959 along with Curtis Amy; Gordon would leave to Europe before getting a chance to record with that big band on Capitol Records.
Over the next 15 years in Europe, living mainly in Paris and Copenhagen, he played regularly with fellow expatriate, or visiting players, such as Bud Powell, Ben Webster, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Horace Parlan and Billy Higgins. Blue Note Records' German-born Francis Wolff supervised Gordon's later sessions for the label on his visits to Europe.
From this period come Our Man in Paris, One Flight Up, and Gettin' Around. Our Man in Paris was a Blue Note session recorded in Paris, France in 1963 with a quartet including pianist Bud Powell, drummer Kenny Clarke, and French bassist Pierre Michelot. One Flight Up, recorded in Paris in 1964 with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Kenny Drew, drummer Art Taylor, and Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, features an extended solo by Gordon on the track "Tanya".
Gordon also visited the States occasionally for further recording dates with Blue Note: Gettin' Around was recorded during a visit back to the US in May 1965, as was the unreleased album Clubhouse.
Less well-known, but of similar quality, are the albums he recorded during the same period for the Danish label SteepleChase (Something Different, Bouncin' With Dex, Biting the Apple, and a few dozen others). They again feature American sidemen, but also such Europeans as Spanish pianist Tete Montoliu and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.
Gordon found Europe in the 1960s a much easier place to live, saying that he experienced less racism and greater respect for jazz musicians. Furthermore in America he had experienced drug addiction and imprisonment twice, and must have found the change of location helpful. While in Copenhagen, Dexter Gordon and Kenny Drew's trio appeared onscreen in Ole Ege's theatrically released hardcore pornographic film Pornografi (1971), for which they composed and performed the score.
He switched from Blue Note to Prestige Records (1965-1973) but stayed very much in the hard-bop idiom, making classic bop albums like 1972's Tangerine with Thad Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and Hank Jones.
Some of the Prestige albums were recorded during visits back to North America while he was still living in Europe; others were made in Europe, including live sets from the Montreux Jazz Festival. The American recordings included The Chase, a tenor battle with Gene Ammons cut in Chicago in 1970.
Dexter Gordon finally returned to the United States for good in 1976. He appeared at the Village Vanguard, NY, for a gig that was dubbed as his 'homecoming;' and was recorded and released under that title. He noted "There was so much love and elation; sometimes it was a little eerie at the Vanguard. After the last set they'd turn on the lights and nobody would move".
After this appearance, Gordon recorded several more albums that proved he was as good if not better than before his years in Europe, and he finally gained appreciation as one of the great jazz tenors. The increased attention that he received because of Columbia Records promotions has been seen as a turning point in jazz because they focused on acoustic jazz rather than the commercial cross-over styles which had been heavily promoted during the first part of the 1970s.
Gordon made several notable film appearances. The first occurred, oddly enough, while he was in prison for possession of heroin. He portrayed an inmate playing in the prison band in Unchained, though the soundtrack was later overdubbed. In 1986, Gordon starred in the movie Round Midnight as 'Dale Turner', an expatriate jazz musician much like himself; the role might even be a thinly veiled biography of him, though Lester Young and Bud Powell were its main inspirations. Gordon received a nomination for a Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal. In addition, he had a non-speaking role in the film Awakenings, which was released after his death. Between these two roles, Gordon made a guest appearance on the Michael Mann series Crime Story.
Gordon died of kidney failure in Philadelphia, PA, on April 25, 1990, at the age of 67. He was voted musician of the year by Down Beat magazine in 1978 and 1980, and in the latter year was inducted into Down Beat's Jazz Hall of Fame.
Gordon's maternal grandfather was Captain Edward L. Baker, one of the five Medal of Honor winners (9th Cav.) in the Spanish-American War who served in the 9th and 10th Cavalries in the group known as the Buffalo Soldiers.
Gordon's father, Dr. Frank Gordon, M.D., was one of the first prominent African-American physicians and a graduate of Howard University.
Dexter Gordon had a total of six children, from the oldest to the youngest: Robin Gordon (Los Angeles, CA), James Canales Gordon (Oakland, CA), Deidre (Dee Dee) Gordon (Los Angeles, CA), Mikael Gordon-Solfors (Stockholm, Sweden), Morten Gordon (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Benjamin Dexter Gordon (Copenhagen, Denmark), and five grandchildren, Raina Moore (Brooklyn, NY), Jared Johnson (Los Angeles, CA), and Matthew Johnson (Los Angeles, CA) Maya Canales (Oakland, CA), Jared Canales (Oakland, CA)
When he lived in Denmark, he became friends with the family of the future Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, and subsequently became Lars's godfather.
Gordon is also survived by his widow and former manager-producer Maxine Gordon.
I'm A Fool To Want You
Dexter Gordon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a fool to want you
To want a love that can't be true
A love that's there for others too
I'm a fool to hold you
Such a fool to hold you
To seek a kiss not mine alone
Time and time again I said I'd leave you
Time and time again I went away
But then would come the time when I would need you
And once again these words I'll have to say
I'm a fool to want you
Pity me, I need you
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong
But right or wrong I can't get along
Without you
I can't get along
Without you
The lyrics to Dexter Gordon's "I'm a fool to want you" are a poignant expression of a failed love affair. The singer acknowledges that they are a fool to continue wanting this person who cannot reciprocate their love fully. The line "A love that's there for others too" indicates that the object of their affection is not exclusive to them, and therefore, their love is not genuine. The singer is aware of this fact, but despite this knowledge, they cannot let go of their feelings for this person.
The line "To seek a kiss not mine alone, To share a kiss the Devil has known." speaks to the complicated nature of the relationship. The singer is willing to hold and kiss this individual, even though they know that other people are doing the same, which leads them to question the object of their desire's true motives. They want to possess them wholly, but they are aware that they cannot. Additionally, the mention of the "kiss the devil has known," suggests temptation and infidelity, adding further tension and confusion to the singer's emotional state.
The repeated line "I'm a fool to want you" emphasizes the singer's inability to escape from their desire for this person, even though they know it is causing them pain. It is a melancholy and emotionally charged song that speaks to the universal feeling of wanting someone that we know we can't have.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a fool to want you
Admitting the foolishness of wanting someone who is not good for you
I'm a fool to want you
Repeating the admission of being a fool in the context of the song
To want a love that can't be true
Acknowledging that the love being sought cannot be genuine
A love that's there for others too
Conveying that the love is not exclusive, but shared with others
Such a fool to hold you
Acknowledging the foolishness of holding onto someone who is not faithful
To seek a kiss not mine alone
Wanting affection that is not exclusive to the singer
To share a kiss the Devil has known
Implies that the person the singer is with has been with other people, perhaps even those who are wicked
Time and time again I said I'd leave you
Admitting to having tried to leave this person in the past
Time and time again I went away
Expressing the artist's repeated attempts to move on from the relationship
But then would come the time when I would need you
Describing a cycle wherein the artist distances themselves, but then becomes emotionally dependent on the other person
And once again these words I'll have to say
Implying that the singer feels stuck in this pattern of leaving and returning to the same person
Pity me, I need you
Acknowledging that the artist's need for this person is pitiful
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong
Acknowledging that the feelings and patterns are probably not healthy
But right or wrong I can't get along
Conveying that this unhealthy relationship is something the singer feels they cannot live without
Without you
Echoing the sentiment expressed throughout the song: that the singer cannot imagine life without this other person
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTIAN WOLF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tubular2006
mother of god! just listen to that! Dexter you just played every broken heart, every hopeless desperation, and every regretted missed chance experienced by mankind.
@josephwright6076
Lol..you just summed it all up the best way words can possibly express
@1hemulen
Maxine, Dexter's widow, read your comment out on UK radio last weekend and then played this performance. She agreed with you 100% and so do I
@robtstanier1939
@@1hemulen Yes she did, it bought a tear to my eye listening to this...
@tubular2006
@@1hemulen oh my. So happy she saw my comment. Her book is terrific.
@stevenalbertbartlett2688
couldn't hav said itmo..hyperbolikly myself...been dere done dat..wore out the T shirt...myself..bro....
@rozenaxsax5133
Dexter's tone throughout this whole ballad is otherworldly. I've listened to this about a zillion times and it never ceases to amaze me because the depth of feeling in every note is incredible. I have the transcription and try and play it but all it does is remind me of what a genius is compared to an ordinary saxophonist. However, I thank the heavens that only one person was able to play like this and that was Dexter. It would demean his star if just anyone could match this if you know what I mean. This is musical perfection!
@taliassa383
So true ❤
Is there a transcription on line?
@ELDecano1971
When Freddie Hubbard comes in on Trumpet. Holy Moly it sends a chill down my spine. brilliant!!
@herbertmasing
I always thought it was Chet Baker on the trumpet. Thanks for clearing that up :) In top three of such solos..