Dexter Gordon

North Sea Jazz Concert Series - 1979 Dexter Gordon White Vinyl edition

Dexter Gordon (1923 – 1990) was a giant in every respect. Both his height and his playing exuded authority. He had the power to draw conclusions amid many musical impressions and, carefree of other people's opinions, said/played things as they were. He was one of the first tenor saxophonists to play modern jazz after the big band style, making him a source of inspiration for many.

On July 15, 1979, he joined North Sea Jazz with his accompanying trio consisting of pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Eddie Gladden. On this album you can hear their performances of 'It's You Or No One' and 'More Than You Know'. In addition, the album contains a recording of the tenor battle held later that evening during 'Flying Home' with Hank Jones on piano, Gene Ramsey on bass and Gus Johnson on drums, in addition to Dexter Budd Johnson, Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb and Buddy Tate sound on sax.

After the Ella Fitzgerald album this is the second release of the North Sea Jazz Concert Series presented at the end of last year by Bertus Distribution, in collaboration with NTR, AVROTROS and MOJO. It’s a new vinyl series consisting of live recordings of legendary artists through the decades made at the renowned North Sea Jazz Festival.

The North Sea Jazz Concert Series will include officially licensed releases that will be released as standard on 180-gram white vinyl in a sleeve of heavy paper and printed on reversed board. The records will be captured in mainly black-and-white artwork by Hans Pol in his signature style of the festival with inspiration from the covers of classic older jazz releases from the Blue Note label, for example. The liner notes are written by journalist and jazz expert Jeroen de Valk. For all recordings it’s a first time ever release on vinyl!