Search - Dexter Gordon :: Apartment

Hard Swinging Dex album

earl rlabaci | 01/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dexter Gordon had a boss tone and such a big sound. He was mainly a bebop player but came from a swing background. From this album you can tell he was very influenced by Bird and those bop players, he left most of the swing playing behind exept for that very Lester Young oriented tone also he remained very laid back. This is great seventies Hard Swinging Dexter Gordon. Since the recording equipment is European, you can give some credit to the egineers who amplified his sound so well. Along with Gordon are Kenny Drew - Piano, Niels Henning Orsted Pederson - Bass, and Albert "tootie" Heath - Drums. This was the most popular rhythmn section in Europe at that time. Jazz might have been thought dead in the U.S. but was very much alive in Europe.



The first song, "The Apartment", has great changes esp for someone like Dex. Some nice Ballads are included. Standout tracks are "Wee Dot" an up-tempo blues with Pederson bowing his solo, the even more up-tempo minor blues, "Antabus", and the bonus track "Stablemates" by Benny Golson another tenor man.

This is laidback stuff but still full of plenty meat and potatoes."

A Real Cooker

Macjazz1 | USA | 08/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great album from Dexter Gordon's Denmark period, swinging and driving as always. "Antabus" is a real cooker where everyone really tears it up. I think this time period brought out some of Dexter's best, and not long after this he was "rediscovered" upon returning to the U.S. (see his "Homecoming" cd, also terrific).If you want to hear Dexter Gordon swinging in his prime, check this out."

Vinyl original worth 5 stars, CD reissue rates a 4

E. Lopes | São Paulo, Brazil | 07/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Very nice on its own merits - but prospective buyers should be aware that, although the tunes are the same as on the original 1974 LP release (except for "Stablemates", included as a bonus track), this CD is mostly based on different (i.e., alternate) takes. A comparison with the LP points to the essential rightness of the criteria by which the original selection was made. Still, if you're a Dexter fan and don't have the vinyl, go ahead and get the CD."