Dexter Gordon – Live at Stiftshof, Ossiach Austria – July 3, 1969 – ORF-Radio 1 –
Dexter Gordon this weekend – in concert in Ossiach, Austria on July 3, 1969 and recorded by Austrian Radio.
From the early 60s to the mid 1970s, Dexter Gordon migrated to Europe, living mainly in Paris and Copenhagen, during that time he played regularly with fellow expatriates or visiting players, such as Bud Powell, Ben Webster, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Drew, Horace Parlan and Billy Higgins. Blue Note’s Francis Wolff supervised Gordon’s later sessions for the label on his visits to Europe. The pairing of Gordon with Drew turned out to be one of the classic matchups between a horn player and a pianist, much like Miles Davis with Red Garland or John Coltrane with McCoy Tyner.
From this period come Our Man in Paris, One Flight Up, Gettin’ Around, and Clubhouse. Our Man in Paris was a Blue Note session recorded in Paris in 1963 with backup consisting of pianist Powell, drummer Kenny Clarke, and French bassist Pierre Michelot. One Flight Up, recorded in Paris in 1964 with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Kenny Drew, drummer Art Taylor, and Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, features an extended solo by Gordon on the track “Tanya”.
Gordon also visited the US occasionally for further recording dates. Gettin’ Around was recorded for Blue Note during a visit in May 1965, as was the album Clubhouse which remained unreleased until 1979.
Gordon found Europe in the 1960s a much easier place to live, saying that he experienced less racism and greater respect for jazz musicians. He also stated that on his visits to the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he found the political and social strife disturbing. While in Copenhagen, Gordon and Drew’s trio appeared onscreen in Ole Ege’s theatrically released hardcore pornographic film Pornografi (1971), for which they composed and performed the score.
He switched from Blue Note to Prestige Records (1965–73). For the label, he recorded bop albums like The Tower of Power! and More Power! (1969) with James Moody, Barry Harris, Buster Williams, and Albert “Tootie” Heath; The Panther! (1970) with Tommy Flanagan, Larry Ridley, and Alan Dawson; The Jumpin’ Blues (1970) with Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Roy Brooks; The Chase! (1970) with Gene Ammons, Jodie Christian, John Young, Cleveland Eaton, Rufus Reid, Wilbur Campbell, Steve McCall, and Vi Redd; and Tangerine (1972) with Thad Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and Hank Jones. Some of the Prestige albums were recorded during visits back to North America while he was still living in Europe; others were made in Europe, including live sets from the Montreux Jazz Festival.
In addition to the recordings Gordon did under his American label contracts, live recordings by European labels and live video from his European period have been released. In 1975 Dexter Gordon signed an exclusive recording contract with Danish label SteepleChase and recorded some of his most inspired sessions like The Apartment (1974), More Than You Know (1975), Stable mates, Swiss Nights vol. 1, 2 and 3, Something Different, Lullaby For A Monster, and not least Biting The Apple, recorded during his homecoming trip to New York, featuring Barry Harris, Sam Jones and Al Foster. The album received the Grand Prix De Jazz in Montreux Switzerland 1977. SteepleChase released live dates from his mid-1960s tenure at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen. The video was released under the Jazz Icons series.
Here is one of the Austrian gigs, featuring Dusko Gojkovic, trumpet and flugelhorn, Larry Vuckovich, piano, Isla Eckinger, bass along with Makaya Ntshoko and Philly Joe Jones alternating on drums.
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