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Dexter Gordon: Dexter Gordon: Our Man in Paris – 1963
ByThe highlight of the CD, and the closer of the original LP, is a fantastic, crazy, original take on Dizzy Gillespie’s 'A Night in Tunisia.'
Dexter Gordon
saxophone, tenor1923 - 1990
Gordon made a bunch of terrific records for Blue Note from 1961 to 1964. Some say Go! from 1962, with pianist

Sonny Clark
piano1931 - 1963

Bud Powell
piano1924 - 1966
As the title implies, Our Man in Paris was recorded in the City of Lights. It's a simple bop quartet with Gordon on sax, Powell on piano, American

Kenny Clarke
drums1914 - 1985
The album kicks off with a wild rendition of the

Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
Next up is another jazz chestnut, "Willow Weep for Me." It's been recorded a million times by a million artists, and my favorite version is still

Art Tatum
piano1909 - 1956
A couple more standards follow: "Broadway," which sounds suspiciously like

Fats Waller
piano1904 - 1943
And then the highlight of the CD, and the closer of the original LP, a fantastic, crazy, original take on

Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993
The CD adds two more cuts to the LP, neither essential: a pleasant mid-tempo version of "Our Love is Here to Stay" and a sax-less take of "Like Someone in Love," featuring Bud Powell sounding very un-Powell-like. No clever bop-istries here, just nice, unremarkable melodies.
Funny thing about Our Man in Paris. I've owned the record (and now the CD) for decades, but it's not one I go to often. And yet once I do play the album, I wind up listening to it over and over. If it's not in your collection, it should be. Gordon is one of the all-time best boppers, and Paris is arguably his best recording.
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
Availability: Many copies on Amazon, new and used
Cost: Just $2 or $3 used
Tags
Dexter Gordon
My Blue Note Obsession
Marc Davis
Sonny Clark
Bud Powell
Kenny Clarke
Charlie Parker
Art Tatum
Fats Waller
Dizzy Gillespie
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