Dexter Gordon - Live At The Both And Club (1970)

Tracklist

1. Fried Bananas 9:27
2. Blue Monk 13:03
3. There Will Never Be Another You 12:18
4. The Shadow Of Your Smile 10:34
5. Wee Dot 6:23
6. The Rainbow People 12:53
7. Montmartre 11:13

Like many touring jazz artists, Dexter Gordon worked with local rhythm sections on a regular basis to make him more affordable to nightclubs. On this evening in 1970 at the Both/And Club in San Francisco, the young pianist George Duke, bassist Donald Garrett, and drummer Oliver Johnson were recruited to work with the tenor saxophonist. After one afternoon rehearsal, Gordon was satisfied. Although Duke had a strong jazz background, at the time he was playing boogaloo music up the street and had also recently joined rockers Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, so he was hardly the typical bop pianist one associates with Gordon's recordings. But nothing bothered Gordon, as he let fly with long, quote-filled renditions of gems like his "Fried Bananas" (based upon the changes to the standard "It Could Happen to You"), Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk," along with a smoking romp through J.J. Johnson's "Wee Dot." There are some lesser moments. "There Will Never Be Another You" begins rather awkwardly, with both Garrett and Johnson seeming unsure of their footing, though eventually order is restored by the leader. The music on this live CD has been issued in various forms by several labels, though this release is evidently more complete than its predecessors. While the fidelity is hampered consistently with overmodulation of the drums and other sonic difficulties, the energy of this live set enables it to overcomes the audio shortcomings.