Requisites
Nights At The Keystone ~ Dexter Gordon | By Eddie Carter
Dexter Gordon’s return to the United States generated significant excitement among his fans. After his triumphant return to the Village Vanguard and his 1976 performance, which produced the album Homecoming, he began touring regularly. This morning’s album from the library features the tenor saxophonist and his quartet at one of San Francisco’s notable jazz clubs. Nights At The Keystone (Blue Note BABB-85112) is a two-record set documenting his performances over several nights in 1978 and 1979 at the Keystone Korner. George Cables on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Eddie Gladden on drums round out the group. The copy I own is the 1985 U.S. stereo release.
The album opens with the quartet’s tender rendition of Sophisticated Lady by Duke Ellington. Dexter introduces the song with a dreamy melody, which he sustains with remarkable sensitivity in his opening statement. George’s subsequent solo evokes a bygone era of innocence and joy. Dexter returns to add a few final gentle thoughts before the closing ensemble and audience’s applause. Gordon speaks to the audience and introduces It’s You or No One by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. The quartet launches into a spirited theme, then Gordon takes charge on the first solo, soaring into the stratosphere. Cables tackles the following solo at a brisk pace, then Gordon trades lively choruses with Gladden, paving the way for a swift return to the theme and a spirited finish.
The rhythm section opens Dexter Gordon’s Antabus with an energetic introduction. The quartet then is off to the races with a brisk melody. Dexter ignites the opening interpretation with fiery tenor saxophone lines. George continues cooking with agility in the following statement, then Dex takes the reins again briefly before the quartet takes the song out. Easy Living by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin comes from the 1937 film of the same name and slows the ensemble down for the pianist’s introduction, segueing to the quartet’s gentle theme. Dexter’s opening statement is sure to melt all the tension in your body away with delicacy and tender warmth. Cables responds with a deceptively elegant approach that picks up the pace to midtempo ahead of Gordon’s return for the theme’ restatement and ending.
The tempo moves upward again to begin side three with the quartet’s lively version of Tangerine by Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger. The rhythm section provides a lush foundation for Dexter’s melody to flow comfortably at an easy beat. Dexter takes the spotlight first with a down-home, soulful flavor that swings from the first note to the finale. George has the next spot and makes his presence felt preceding the closing chorus. More Than You Know by Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, and Billy Rose begins with the group’s elegantly graceful introduction and melody. Gordon again shows off his sentimental side with a hauntingly tender lead solo. Cables steps up next for a short, serene statement that builds as it unfolds. Gordon has the final say ahead of the group’s gorgeous finale.
Side Four concludes the album with Come Rain or Come Shine, by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, giving everyone a lengthy solo. The quartet’s medium tempo sets the song’s introduction and opening chorus in motion. Dexter is up first with a neatly paced stroll, then George delivers a splendid performance. Rufus walks with a soulful groove next, and Dexter and Eddie engage in a brief exchange before the quartet’s return and finale. Todd Barkan produced Nights at the Keystone, and Rich McKean managed the recording console. Malcolm Addey was the mixing engineer, and Rudy Van Gelder mastered the album.
The sound quality of this live album is exceptional, truly capturing the ambiance of Keystone Korner and offering an impressive soundstage that highlights The Dexter Gordon Quartet at their finest. If you’re searching for a top-notch live performance by one of jazz’s legendary tenor saxophonists, Nights at the Keystone by Dexter Gordon is well worth checking out during your next visit to the record store. It spotlights the tenor saxophonist in peak form, blending technical brilliance, improvisational flair, and deep musical chemistry throughout the set!
~ Homecoming (Columbia PG 34650) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Come Rain or Come Shine, Easy Living, More Than You Know, Tangerine – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2026 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Walter “Rosetta” Fuller was born on February 15, 1910 in Dyersburg, Tennessee, first learning to play the mellophone as a child before settling on trumpet. He played in a traveling medicine show from age 14, then played with Sammy Stewart in the late 1920s.
Fuller In 1930 he moved to Chicago and played with Irene Eadie and Her Vogue Vagabonds. In 1931 he began a longtime partnership with Earl Hines, remaining with him until 1937, when he left to join Horace Henderson’s ensemble. After a year with Henderson he returned to Hines’ band but once again left Hines in 1940 to form his own band, playing at the Grand Terrace in Chicago and the Radio Room in Los Angeles. Among his sidemen were Rozelle Claxton, Quinn Wilson, Omer Simeon and Gene Ammons.
Fuller got the nickname “Rosetta” based on his singing on the 1934 Hines recording of the song of the same name. He would lead bands on the West Coast for over a decade and play as a sideman for many years afterward. On April 20, 2003 trumpeter and vocalist Walter Fuller passed away in San Diego, California.
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Maceo Parker was born February 14, 1943 in Kinston, North Carolina and was exposed to music early in life within his family and learned to play the saxophone. He and his brother Melvin, who played drums, joined James Brown in 1964 a relationship that lasted for six year before he left with Melvin and a few other Brown band members to form Maceo & All The King’s Men in 1970.
By ’74 he was back with Brown, charted a party single with Maceo & The Macks, joined Parliament-Funkadelic in the late 70s into the 89s, and then returned once again to James Brown for four years late in the decade. In the 1990s, Parker began his successful solo career releasing ten albums and performing 100 to 150 dates a year.
He has guest appeared on a variety of group’s albums and concerts and turning to jazz recorded “Roots & Grooves” with the WDR Big Band to critical acclaim as a tribute to Ray Charles. The album won a Jammie for best Jazz Album in 2009.
In October 2011 soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. He continues touring throughout the world, headlining the major Jazz Festivals in Europe where his following is at its strongest.
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Ron Jefferson was born on February 13, 1926 in New York City and began as a tap dancer before taking up the drums. He quickly became a fixture on the postwar bop scene collaborating, touring and/or recording with Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Charles Mingus, Freddie Redd, Teddy Edwards and Roy Eldridge to name a few.
He also spent a number of years as a sideman with Oscar Pettiford, and working with Charlie Rouse and Julius Watkins forming the Jazz Modes in 1957. After two years the trio split up and Ron signed on with Les McCann prior to moving to Los Angeles in 1962. It was there he cut his debut album as a leader titled “Love Lifted Me” on the Pacifica label.
In addition to playing behind Groove Holmes, Zoot Sims, Carmell Jones and Joe Castro, Ron also toured with Roland Kirk’s “Jazz and People’s Movement”, spent a number of years in Paris working with Hazel Scott, taught music for the U.S. Embassy and in 1976 he cut “Vout Etes Swing!” for the Catalyst label.
Upon returning to New York, Jefferson hosted the cable TV series Miles Ahead with fellow musician John Lewis. Despite a steady work schedule, he never attained the visibility or renown of many of his contemporaries, and after a brief illness drummer Ron Jefferson died in Richmond, Virginia on May 7, 2007.
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Juini Booth was born Arthur Edward Booth on February 12, 1948 in Buffalo, New York. He began playing piano at about age eight, and switched to bass at 12. He worked with Chuck Mangione in his hometown before moving to New York City around 1966, where he played with Eddie Harris, Art Blakey, Sonny Simmons, Marzette Watts, Freddie Hubbard and Shelley Manne out in Hollywood through the end of the decade.
In the 70s Juini performed with Erroll Garner, Gary Bartz, Charles Brown, Tony Williams and McCoy Tyner and recorded with Larry Young, and with Takehiro Honda and Masabumi Kikuchi during a 1974 tour of Tokyo. He would spend a short period with Hamiett Bluiett, then resettle in Buffalo but worked with Chico Hamilton in Los Angeles and Junior Cook in New York. By the late 70s he played with Elvin Jones and Charles Tolliver.
From 1980 on, he played with Ernie Krivda in Cleveland, as well as locally in Buffalo. He recorded freelance with Beaver Harris, Steve Grossman, Joe Chambers, and Sun Ra among others and currently lives and works in New York City.
Double and electric bassist Juini Booth died on July 11, 2021 at the age of 73.
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