Dexter Gordon's legacy

Dexter Gordon's wife has been maintaining his legacy through lectures and appearances. Her work reminds me of Sue Mingus's efforts on behalf of her husband, although Sue presides over multiple ensembles and actually arranges pieces for the big band, even though she has no formal music knowledge.

Maxine Gordon has dedicated her husband's archival work to the Library of Congress. She is also writing his biography, according to an article on All About Jazz from earlier this year.

I was pleased that Dexter received recognition through his acting in movies in the 1980s, but his acting also made me sad, as it showed the weakening of his presence as compared to the vigor and energy he once projected.

Appreciating Dexter Gordon

Elegant with the discreet suggestion of impending mischief

I learned about Dexter Gordon in the mid-70s with his album Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard (1976). It’s a fiery and, well, dexterous outing in which he’s supported by trumpeter Woody Shaw and his group. Later in the decade, he recorded a similar live album in three volumes, Nights at the Keystone.

At that time, he always had strong drummers, such as Louis Hayes and Eddie Gladden, who generated a lot of thrust. Gordon would float over all that energy, at times dipping into it, but mostly creating dramatic tension out of the expectation that he ought to be exploding, just like the drummer. He was a great ballad player, very expansive. His "Body and Soul" had an ebb and flow of a great novel you can't put down.

His work going all the way back to the 1940s is consistently appealing. His albums from the 60s, such as Go! and Our Man in Paris, contain shorter solos that make every phrase count.

This video archived at Dextergordon.com includes a fantastic snippet beginning at 2:46 from a jam session that includes Gordon’s antecedents, Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins, trading fours. Both tenor icons influenced Gordon, though he steered closer to Young’s lighter and more nimble approach.

Gordon presented himself on stage as a splendid gentleman and vibrant host—elegant with the discreet suggestion of impending mischief. He was throwing a sophisticated yet free-wheeling party, and he want everybody to have great time.

Appreciating Dexter Gordon's maternal grandfather

One of five African-American Medal of Honor recipients in the Spanish-American War

Edward L. Baker Jr., from Wikipedia
Commons, scanned from page 146
of the book Black Valor: Buffalo Soldiers 
and the Medal of Honor, 1870-1898
by Frank N. Schubert (1997,
Scholarly Resources Inc.).
Original image from the National Archives.

Although it's a widely reported fact, it's new to me and worth passing on:

The Official Dexter Gordon Web Site, Dextergordon.com, asserts that the elegant, hard-swinging tenor saxophonist's mother's father served as a sergeant major in the Spanish American War. Furthermore, Edward L. Baker Jr. earned a Medal of Honor for rescuing a wounded soldier from drowning while they were under fire. He was one of five African-American Medal of Honor Recipients in that war. 

Baker is the father of Dexter's mother, Gwendolyn Baker.