Dexter Gordon

Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard

★★★

Dexter Gordon has always been, to me at least, a great player with poppy and catchy tunes. Not much more from my experience. This live club recording doesn't really change my opinion on that, rather reinforcing it for the most part. Maybe part of that is due to its over two hour length, but length can only take away so much. Gordon is Gordon, and besides Woody Shaw, the rest of the players sort of slack off during the whole performance.

Being that it is a club recording (not a very well recorded performance either, but I'll talk more about that) it's natural to expect each piece going over ten minutes long, and all of them are. Gordon's playing is clear and burly, like the man himself; it stands out and is instantly recognizable like many other great saxophonists. The pianist, drummer, and bassist all seem very lost and out of place to me. I can barely make out the bass throughout this whole thing, and that's basically the recorder's fault. This is not a great recording and that's even more apparent when it comes to the drums; at many parts it's like those plastic buckets you sometimes see being played on the street.

The pianist is recorded fine, but that's the issue. He seems to be going really out of his way to muddy this whole thing up, reaching for places he has no way or need to reach. Going back to Dexter, he's good at what he does but that's not that great for me. He's a bop player that even here, twenty some years later, doesn't risk his style for anything. He borrows quotes from famous standards here and there but never goes above and beyond. He's your stereotypical jazz cat that sticks to one thing and rarely extends his reach beyond that one talent. 

The album itself feels more drawn out and weaker as it goes forward. The same style with very little change throughout, except maybe on the track "Fried Bananas", which is one of the hotter and more intense songs during this whole performance. Perhaps placing "Gingerbread Boy" at the beginning of this album, was the best choice the compilers made on this whole thing. It's easily the standout track and everything else feels pretty weak in comparison. I still think this is great playing by not only Gordon but also Shaw, just that it's repetitive and doesn't explore as much as it should. 

Favorite Song: Gingerbread Boy