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 Was Doing Allright
Dexter Gordon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing but rainbows in my sky
I was doing all right
'Til you came by
Had no cause to complain
Life was as sweet as apple pie
Never noticed the rain
But now whenever you're away
I can't sleep nights and suffer all the day
I just sit and wonder
If love isn't one big blunder
But when you hold me tight
Tingling all through, I feel somehow
I was doing all right
But I'm doing better than ever now
But now whenever you're away
I can't sleep nights and suffer all the day
I just sit and wonder
If love isn't one big blunder
But when you hold me tight
Tingling all through, I feel somehow
I was doing all right
But I'm doing, yes, I'm doing
I'm doing much better than ever now
The song 'I Was Doing Allright' by Dexter Gordon is a love song that talks about how the singer's life was perfect until their lover appeared in their life. They state that they were doing all right, enjoying life, and saw nothing but rainbows in their sky. However, everything changed when their lover came into the picture. The singer's life became more complicated, and they started experiencing sleepless nights and suffering through the day when their lover was away. They wonder if love is a big blunder, but everything changes when their lover holds them tight, and they feel tingles through their body. The singer admits that they are doing much better than ever before, thanks to their lover's presence in their life.
This song captures the ups and downs of love in the most beautiful way possible. The singer shows how love can bring turmoil and discomfort, but it can also change one's life for the better. The lyrics demonstrate how love can change a person's perception of the world and how it can make even the toughest situations better.
Line by Line Meaning
I was doing all right
Life was going well for me
Nothing but rainbows in my sky
Everything in my life felt positive and good
I was doing all right
I was content and happy with my life
'Til you came by
Until the person came into my life that changed everything
Had no cause to complain
I had no reason to be unhappy or dissatisfied with my life
Life was as sweet as apple pie
My life was enjoyable and satisfying, like the taste of apple pie
Never noticed the rain
I didn't pay attention to any negativity in my life
'Til you came by
Until the person came into my life that made me see the negativity
But now whenever you're away
Whenever the person is not around
I can't sleep nights and suffer all the day
I have trouble sleeping at night and feel unhappy throughout the day
I just sit and wonder
I spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting
If love isn't one big blunder
I question whether love is a mistake or not
But when you hold me tight
When the person embraces me closely
Tingling all through, I feel somehow
I experience a physical sensation and feel good in some way
I was doing all right
I was content and happy with my life
But I'm doing better than ever now
With the person in my life, I feel even happier and better than I did before
'Til you came by
Until the person came into my life that changed everything
I can't sleep nights and suffer all the day
I have trouble sleeping at night and feel unhappy throughout the day
I just sit and wonder
I spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting
If love isn't one big blunder
I question whether love is a mistake or not
But when you hold me tight
When the person embraces me closely
Tingling all through, I feel somehow
I experience a physical sensation and feel good in some way
I was doing all right
I was content and happy with my life
But I'm doing, yes, I'm doing
I am currently feeling good
I'm doing much better than ever now
With the person in my life, I feel even happier and better than I did before
Lyrics © RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robscheps7722
So swingin'. Dex and Freddie both great.
@DrJonesJazzMore
They really know how to swing, Dexter Gordon phrases are amazing! Wow
@davidmaslow399
He blows just a fraction behind the beat and the result is Wonderful!
@peterheidgerd5418
@@davidmaslow399 lo
@Tubulous123
Yes!!!! Thank you!!!! - Hubbard's Tone.....<3
@60otaku4
You're welcome, Jeff-san!!
Otaku4 (^_^)/
@jonathanb.8791
Wonderful and thanks for posting. I fear that many have forgotten the greatness of Dexter, who had a sound all his own.
@60otaku4
You're very welcome, Jonathan B-san!!
Otaku4 (*^_^)b
@javierperez-gu5my
Maestros ¡ Excelente Lovano¡
@milessmiles9289
Sooo good!