Requisites

It happened like this; I was choosing several albums to listen to for my next column when a delightful surprise showed up at my door. After auditioning it, I wanted to share my thoughts with you. I first heard this morning’s subject of discussion by Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up (Blue Note BLP 4176/BST 84176) in 1967 during one of my Saturday visits to Record Rendezvous in Cleveland, Ohio. This was his sixth Blue Note album and his second release since moving overseas from the United States. Dexter was a staple on the jazz scene since the forties when he was a member of Billy Eckstine’s Big Band. He was a major influence for two other tenor giants, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins. He moved abroad because he was treated more fairly and as an equal than in the US.  There was also plenty of work for him and other musicians in some of the best jazz clubs Europe and France had to offer.

In this album, the tenor saxophonist leads a first-class ensemble of Donald Byrd on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. My copy used in this report is the 2021 Blue Note Tone Poet Series Stereo Audiophile reissue sharing the original catalog number.  Side One is occupied by Donald Byrd’s Tanya allowing the tenor, trumpet, and piano three lengthy solo opportunities. The rhythm section opens with a brief introduction segueing into a dreamy collective theme. Dexter works his magic first on nearly six minutes of immaculate execution. Donald follows, appealing at every turn on the next reading. Kenny speaks proudly with a firm articulation on the finale that keeps us captivated by Neils-Henning’s and Art’s stylish foundation ahead of the quintet’s closing chorus and gentle dissolve.

Side Two starts with Kenny Drew’s, Coppin’ The Haven. The trio eases into the song with a brief introduction leading to Byrd and Gordon stating the melody to the rhythm section’s infectious beat. Dexter crafts the opening solo with a touch of the blues that sustains its momentum until the conclusion. Donald comes in next with an exquisite reading as smooth as glass. Kenny serves up an impressive final statement preceding the climax. The album ends with the beautiful 1939 standard, Darn That Dream by Jimmy Van Heusen and Eddie DeLange. This is a gorgeous quartet performance opening with a gentle trio introduction. Dexter is the centerpiece here and he produces a beautifully seductive melody and tender first reading.  Kenny expresses a gentle warmth on the second interpretation, then Gordon returns to close with a sensuously smooth ending.

One Flight Up was recorded by the French engineer, Jacques Lubin.  This Tone Poet reissue was supervised by Joe Harley, and the mastering is by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. The sound quality is spectacular with refreshing clarity and a stunning soundstage that transports the musicians to your listening room. The record was pressed on 180-gram audiophile vinyl and is silent until the music starts. Then, the gatefold photos inside could adorn any wall proudly. Over his nearly forty-year career, Dexter recorded for a host of labels, Bethlehem, Columbia, Decca, Dial, Dootone, Prestige, Savoy, and SteepleChase. However, it was the five years he was at Blue Note (1961-1966) that are among his finest records in my opinion. He passed away on April 25, 1990, at age sixty-seven from kidney failure and cancer of the larynx. If you’re a Hard-Bop fan, I highly recommend One Flight Up by Dexter Gordon. It’s an excellent album where the music speaks to you in a way that’s rewarding listening for any jazz library!

~ Darn That Dream – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ Dexter Gordon – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Masking and social distancing are still my mantra in maintaining my health and this time has given me a steady flow of opportunities to sit and listen to albums I have in my collection. So this I am revisiting music that was recorded over a quarter of a century ago. This week I turn to tenor and soprano saxophonist Joshua Redman and his 1994 studio album by his quartet titled Moodswing. All compositions on this album are original and released on the Warner Bros. The album was re-released on vinyl in 2009.

Track Listing | 69:39
  1. Sweet Sorrow
  2. Chill
  3. Rejoice
  4. Faith
  5. Alone in the Morning
  6. Mischief
  7. Dialogue
  8. The Oneness of Two (In Three)
  9. Past in the Present
  10. Obsession
  11. Headin’ Home
Personnel 
  • Joshua Redman ~ tenor, soprano saxophone
  • Brad Mehldau ~ piano
  • Christian McBride ~ bass
  • Brian Blade ~ drums

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

Recorded on March 8~10, 1994 at the Power Station in New York City. The production team was led by producer Matt Pierson, Jennifer Zeitlin ~ production coordinator, James Farber was the recording/mixing engineer, Greg Calbi and Scott Hull ~ mastering engineers, and Rory Romano, Tony Black ~ engineer assistants. The art direction and design was by Jeri Heiden and Tom Recchion, Jim Merrill did the photography of the band and Marc Hom took the photographs of Joshua. Mary Ann Topper was responsible for management and booking.

Track Listing | 69:39
  1. Sweet Sorrow
  2. Chill
  3. Rejoice
  4. Faith
  5. Alone in the Morning
  6. Mischief
  7. Dialogue
  8. The Oneness of Two (In Three)
  9. Past in the Present
  10. Obsession
  11. Headin’ Home
Personnel 
  • Joshua Redman ~ tenor, soprano saxophone
  • Brad Mehldau ~ piano
  • Christian McBride ~ bass
  • Brian Blade ~ drums

CALIFORNIA JAZZ FOUNDATION

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Rodrigo Amado was born in Lisbon, Portugal on July 15, 1964 and began studying the sax at the age of 17, briefly at the Hot Club Music School of Lisbon and with mentors Carlos Martins, Pedro Madaleno, and Jorge Reis.

With diverse musical interests, he explored improvisation in other genres, including his work with his various ensembles like the Lisbon Improvisation Players and the Motion Trio with Miguel Mira and Gabriel Ferrandini. He is an in~demand studio player on numerous recorded projects.

He started his own label Clean Feed in 2001, with brothers Pedro and Carlos Costa, before leaving the imprint in 2005 to start a second label, European Echoes. Also an accomplished professional photographer, Amado continues to be a bright light on the Portuguese and international improvisational jazz scene.

Saxophonist Rodrigo Amado continues to specialize in free-form, composition-in-the-moment jazz, and his various projects and trios have given him an international following.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Pedro Iturralde Ochoa was born in Falces, Spain on July 13, 1929. He began his musical studies with his father and performed in his first professional engagements on saxophone at age eleven. GraduatING from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, he had studied clarinet, piano, and harmony.

When he was 20 years old he composed Czárdás for saxophone and dedicated the present version of the work, orchestrated by his brother Javier, to a friend, saxophonist Theodore Kerkezos. He went on to lead his own jazz quartet at the W. Jazz Club in Madrid, Spain and experimented with the combined use of flamenco and jazz, and making recordings for the Blue Note label.

In 1972 he undertook further study in harmony and arranging at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He taught saxophone at the Madrid Conservatory from 1978 until his retirement in 1994. He appeared in Spain and abroad as a soloist with the Spanish National Orchestra under the baton of Frühbeck de Burgos, Celibidache, Markevitch, and others.

He made recordings with the renowned flamenco guitarists Paco de Lucia, Paco de Algeciras and Pepe de Antequerra, and Paco Cepero. He also recorded with jazz vocalist Donna Hightower on her I’m In Love with Love album and arranged/conducted on her El Jazz y Donna Hightower album.

Saxophonist, teacher and composer Pedro Iturralde Ochoa passed away on November 1, 2020. in Madrid on November 1, 2020.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Joe Darensbourg was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on July 9, 1906 and in his youth moved out to California where he played gigs where he could find them and appeared in several silent films with these bands. In 1950 Joe appeared in Mahogany Magic with Kid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band. The Sixties saw him playing with Louis Armstrong’s All Stars in The Good Years of Jazz: Louis Armstrong & The All Stars.

In 1958 his Dixie Fliers recording of Yellow Dog Blues hit #43 on the pop charts, and Louis Armstrong’s version of Hello Dolly, which Drensburg played clarinet went to #1 in 1964. By the Sixties he performed on a television special with the All Stars Winter Carnival in Sun Valley, California and a March of Dimes tribute to Louis Armstrong.

He was noted for his work with Buddy Petit, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Creath, Fate Marable, Andy Kirk, Johnny Wittwer, Kid Ory, Wingy Manone, Joe Liggins and Louis Armstrong. Clarinetist and saxophonist Joe Darensbourg, who played Dixieland, passed away on May 24, 1985.

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