Tribute to Dexter Gordon:
“Long tall Dexter, the Sophisticated Giant.”
Dexter was a tenor saxophonist and one of the most influential musicians of the bebop era.
Where he initially influenced musicians like Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane in their bebop playing, he later followed their influence in the later period of Hardbop.
Dexter Gordon is often seen smoking on album covers and these pictures, especially those for the Royal Roost, have become an iconic standard for jazz photography.
In his later period, Dexter was also seen as an actor and even received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his leading role in the jazz film Round Midnight.
In his career, he played with many iconic (jazz) musicians. Among them, Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Harry Edison. He also played with Nat King Cole.
In the later phase of his life, he moved to Europe, where he found the living environment much more pleasant than in America. Here he played among others, together with other emigrated compatriots, such as James Moody and Tommy Flanagan.
Dexter Gordon has left his mark on jazz history in various ways, as we know it today.
A worthy tribute to this giant of jazz is therefore more than deserved.