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Have a seat on the A Train! This site
is for newer jazz listeners, although old-timers are welcome too. I started listening about 10 years or so
ago, and I remember how tough it was to find sources of information that didn't assume you were already familiar
with jazz music. It's my goal to remedy that deficiency with this site. If you're absolutely new to jazz, and
don't know where to start, click here for 10 essential albums. I also try to post a new review of a classic jazz album every week. The latest
one is below. To see the archive of older jazz reviews, click here, or click here for the fusion review archive. Finally, I have put together a glossary of jazz terms, with an emphasis on making the definitions accessible to non-musicians.
Thanks for checking it out,
Nick Bruner.
Click here for theme music.
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| Take the A Train to Harlem |
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Dexter Gordon
Go!
Recorded August 27, 1962
Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophone; Sonny Clark, Piano; Butch Warren, bass;
Billy Higgins, drums
As many years as I've been listening to Dexter
Gordon's Go!, not until recently did I really realize just what it is I like about Dexter as a musician.
After all, his sax playing is not flashy or powerful or even especially inventive. Nor is he all that creative: he does not
write his own songs, relying instead on standards, albeit well-selected ones. No, what makes this album so compellingly
listenable is that Dexter's playing is closer to the human voice than any other instrument I have ever heard. A touch
of vibrato here, a slight growl there, and all of a sudden Dexter is telling a joke, or whispering into a lover's ear,
or just recounting what he did that day, and not until the passage is over does it strike you that you have in fact been listening
to a musical instrument rather than a vocalist.
The ballad I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry is the song that best
shows off Dexter's supreme control and subtle touch, with lush backing and a gorgeous solo provided by pianist Sonny Clark.
Another of the album's highlights is the final song, Three O'Clock in the Morning, with a warm, conversational, even
humorous solo by Dexter. I also like the jaunty Second Balcony Jump and the minor-key, mid-tempo Cheese
Cake.
Although there are no real low points on the album, the ballad Where are You
is more workman-like than inspired, while Love For Sale starts off promisingly with an interesting Latin theme, but
strangely and disappointingly drops the Latin feel for more straight-ahead jazz playing.
Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on
drums play intelligently and subtly throughout. Neither have any solos themselves, but they do a great job on complementing
Dexter's and Clark's solos, subtly enhancing each song's dynamics. Overall, Go! is a strong album by one of the most subtle and melodic saxophonists in jazz.
Grade: B+
(Reviewed 7/25/04)
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| Art Blakey's Night in Tunisia |
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Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban (5/23/04)
John Coltrane, Giant Steps (4/18/04)
Yusef Lateef, The Sounds of Yusef (3/28/04)
Plus many others....
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Birds of Fire (6/20/04)
Weather Report, Heavy Weather (3/14/04)
A Glossary of Jazz Terms (4/25/04)
Schools or Eras of Jazz (4/25/04)
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You should definitely check out Jazz Corner, where you can find jazz news, in-depth artist interviews, and the Speakeasy, the Internet's most active jazz-related
BBS forum.
Learn what a dabbler is at Dabbler's Delight, the exquisitely-designed website of my step-mother, Angel. It is all about quilting, and also has family photos
and poetry.
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