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So little talk about Dexter Gordon Select


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I was gonna post this in the What set am I listening to know.. but I realized that I've haven't seen a single thread on this Select set...

So far it's great.... Dex sound very strong and imaginative. The band (particularly George Cables) sound complimentary but good...

:tup:tup

I'm only on Disc 1... The sound seems a little off to me... but it's probably because I've got crappy speakers in my car....

So why so little conversation????

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Maybe alot of people had this material already, since there's a ton of Dexter fans on this board and the material has been availiable.

In any event, I didn't have the material and I think the set is incredible. I don't know who impressed me more, Dexter or George Cables.

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You know I think I prefer the sound of the earlier cds to these new Select discs!

But yes, I agree these are great performances, full of charm and swing and I like these. I keep a set of them at work and often pull them out. Some of my favorite later Dexter!

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I'll be flamed but I don't care cause I put my Dex-aholic bona fides up against anyone, but I have never gotten into the Keystone recordings because of Cables' piano. Love Dex but just can't get into Cables' style. Give me Kenny Drew!

No reason to flame your for that; to each his own! B-) I'm not a huge Rollins fan (like his early work, hate calypso!!!); now I'll probably get flamed for that!!!

Mark

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Without any disrespect to Kenny Drew, I've always found him to be pretty much standard fare. He's really good at the bop/mainstream type thing, but then again, so were so many other players of that same time. He is a really good player, but I never really found much in him that really makes him stand out from the rest.

Now George Cables, he sounds like no one else, and his individualism really shines on these sides. If you don't like his style, that's cool.....its all a matter of taste. But you can't deny that he is absolutely an individual stylist. Also, both pianists meshed well with Dexter, but it seems like Cables really inspired him to reach heights that I never heard Dexter reach on his recordings with Kenny Drew.

Just my .02

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Without any disrespect to Kenny Drew, I've always found him to be pretty much standard fare. He's really good at the bop/mainstream type thing, but then again, so were so many other players of that same time. He is a really good player, but I never really found much in him that really makes him stand out from the rest.

Now George Cables, he sounds like no one else, and his individualism really shines on these sides. If you don't like his style, that's cool.....its all a matter of taste. But you can't deny that he is absolutely an individual stylist. Also, both pianists meshed well with Dexter, but it seems like Cables really inspired him to reach heights that I never heard Dexter reach on his recordings with Kenny Drew.

Just my .02

well said sal...

I have a few Dex records with Kenny Drew... but to be honest when I'm listening the bulk of my attention is on Dexter... I have enjoyed what I heard from the Select set...

For those of you who have both the Select and the individual CD's - how do they differ?

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Hey 7-1/2 ips tapes. . . I've heard many and they can sound really good. To my ears the difference between the earlier discs and the new ones are that the earlier ones sound beefier, a bit darker, and the new ones are thinner sounding. I prefer the former for the most serious of listening sessions. . . It's not a huge difference.

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I enjoy George Cables as a player. I think this Gordon quartet was a wonderful band. The combination of musicians worked well and presented Gordon in a context that was more "modern" than what I've heard on the various European things from the 1970s, not "better" - just "different". However, the 3 CD Keystone set (which I bought on the day of its first release) does show Cables to be rather redundant at times. There's a diminished thing he does all over the place, just driving it into the ground, and the basic format of a lot of the tunes is the same. I don't have the 2-LP set anymore but it might have avoided this.

Would love to see a reissue of Manhattan Symphonie - what is Columbia waiting for?

Mike

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Well Guys

Nothing on records compares to Dexter heard live and in person in his heydays

in the mid sixties, that was something else. I know he became very popular after

his return to the States, but in my opinion his playing was on the downpath after that. BTW he was a great guy as a person, even though a little bit unriliable

when it came to holding appointments. I miss him. He was a guest at my wedding,

and I have been to several parties at his very small house here in Copenhagen.

Also BTW Kenny Drew was pretty good live with Dex, but my personal prefence for

a pianist with Dex is Sonny Clark or Carl Perkins.

:rolleyes::):):)

Vic

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I was present for several portions of these recordings (based on ticket stubs and best-recollections - I was a Keystone regular back then). Someday, I'll probably pick up this set, perhaps if/when there's another Mosaic sale/promo. I recall liking the band at the time, and I've continued to enjoy Cables in other settings (e.g., Art Pepper). Yet, somehow, I managed to 'pass' on the earlier issue.

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