Joe Gordon

Joe Christmas · February 18, 2008

Forgive me for not searching the archives before starting a new topic. So if there is a pre-existing discussion about Gordon... now you have two! The kickoff...

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Listening to this after some long deliberation on the purchase. Amazing record. The liners naturally discuss items like this being Gordon's final recording, influences, etc. What I hear of influences lean heavily toward his time with Shelly Manne. All of the tunes on this record are original, and they are consistently, astoundingly good. I don't know that Jimmy Woods has sounded better. I'd probably listen to CONFLICT a lot more if he had stretched out there like he does on the Gordon record. Jimmy Bond I knew through Paul Horn's early group, some time before Horn got all cheesy. The other two... new to me. Milt Turner?? Where did he come from? He's not the most complex of drummers but the dude swings like mad. Dick Whittington, maybe I've heard him before, maybe not, but he stands out here with some beautiful playing, largely resulting from Gordon's writing, particularly Gordon's and Woods' comping a la Farmer or Mulligan. Neat stuff happening all over this record. It's a beaut.

I've been listening to WEST COAST DAYS for a year or two now. Style points for all of the badasses here, but no, Gordon and LaFaro do not play together. You do get a double dose of the great Kamuca, fwiw. This is Shelly Manne's group, with some stellar playing from Gordon... easily as imaginative as his stuff on the Blackhawk dates. But the sound leaves a bit to be desired and Budwig may have tuned his bass against a harpsichord in the middle of the Stock Exchange. Either way, it's a fairly strong document that adds to what we already know of Gordon, primarily from the Blackhawk records, and it's there to be studied and make you wonder.

Gordon had recorded earlier with Charlie Parker, Blakey, et al. Maybe someone would like to comment on those. And don't forget the Harold Land record.

Below is a link to Mike Fitzgerald's comprehensive discography. Hit it.

Joe Gordon disco

papsrus · February 18, 2008

I like your enthusiasm. It's enough make me go and look for these. In fact, I did look for the Gordon-LaFaro disc, but no sound samples that I could see. I'm curious though, if Gordon and LaFaro don't play together on it, isn't the album title misleading?

Joe Christmas · February 18, 2008

I'm curious though, if Gordon and LaFaro don't play together on it, isn't the album title misleading?

I thought so too. It's one of those Fresh Sound discs, not a twofer per se, but a collection of like sounds from the period. One date is a quartet, led by either Kamuca or LaFaro. The other is one of the Manne incarnations of the time. Russ Freeman on piano.

Late · February 18, 2008

Whittington auditioned for Miles' group circa 1963 when Davis was in Hollywood. The gig went to Victor Feldman, but that's no slight against Whittington's abilities.

The only Gordon I have is the date with Donald Byrd on Transition. I'll listen to pretty much anything with Kamuca, so the slab goes on the list.

Peter Friedman · February 18, 2008

Whittington auditioned for Miles' group circa 1963 when Davis was in Hollywood. The gig went to Victor Feldman, but that's no slight against Whittington's abilities.

The only Gordon I have is the date with Donald Byrd on Transition. I'll listen to pretty much anything with Kamuca, so the slab goes on the list.

Dick Whittington and his wife Marilyn Ross own (or owned?) the Maybeck Recital Hall where the Concord series of recordings was held.

Whittington has a trio CD out on Concord too.

The Dick Whittington Trio - In New York - Concord 4498

with Steve Gilmore and Bill Goodwin

Whittington also played with Dexter Gordon for several months in 1962.