Dexter Complete Columbia box

[CJ Shearn]

Well, I decided to order this first, and then I'll get the Shaw box, but whats the general concensus of LTD's Columbia dates?

[king ubu]

"Home Coming" is of course stone classic!

"Manhattan Symphonie" is very good as well, "Sophisticated Giant" is a lovely album with mid-size group and some lush arrangements, then there's the meetings... the two long jams with Griffin from Carnegie Hall might not be that great, but they're great FUN!

I recently got "Gotham City" on vinyl and I think I've got them all now... will have to check the details of that box though.

Oh, and the "Round Midnight" material - in case it's included (it used to run under Herbie Hancock) is very good, too, at least some of it (Dexter isn't on all tracks, his are all good).

[CJ Shearn]

Thanks ubu. "European soul tenor" can't be all bad! The Hancock stuff is not included but there is a bonus disc including most of Dex's contributions to "Havana Jam", "Montreux Summit", there are additional takes from "Gotham City". There is also "Isn't She Lovely" which I don't know if it was released until now, but apparently that session for that tune did not turn out well. Woody Shaw III and Woody's estate had a huge hand in producing this set, I was not aware Maxine Gordon was Woody III's mom. The additional contributions Dexter made to "Montreux Summit" are issued on Stan Getz's "Complete Columbia Albums Collection" set.

Edited January 2, 2012 by CJ Shearn

[jazzbo]

Great set CJ, you won't be disappointed.

[sidewinder]

I bought most of them on vinyl when they first came out (apart from the later ones like 'American Classic') and thought they were a breath of fresh air at the time. 'Sophisticated Giant' was my fave at the time and remains so. 'Manhattan Symphonie' is under-rated too.

At some stage I will treat myself to this set and the Woody Shaw for loading onto the I-Pod.

Edited January 2, 2012 by sidewinder

[CJ Shearn]

Should be sent out within the next few days. I really like what Columbia is doing by issuing them in this way b/c some titles get much needed remastering and some rare titles are included. Are all these sets limited pressings? I already have the previous reissue of "Stepping Stones" which is probably the best Shaw on Columbia, but will be getting that set sometime for the bonus disc. I'm familiar with all those tunes from the "Live" sets on Highnote. Too bad they didn't think to do a 2 disc Legacy Edition at the time but it probably would not have sold well.

[mikeweil]

Is this already available in Germany? Can't find at the sites of the usual suspects ...

[JSngry]

Manhattan Symphonie is the last great Dexter album, and imo the only great album he made for Columbia. The others range from very good to...waning, and in more or less chronological order, as befits a man who was dissipating along the way.

[jazzbo]

Mike, as far as I can tell it's only available through popmatters.com

[CJ Shearn]

Thanks for the opinion Jim, in my experience you are generally right, although I think Lon has good points also.

[JSngry]

Well, none of it it sucks, if you know what I mean. But you can for sure hear Dexter becoming more lethargic with each album, and knowing what we know now, there's a reason for that. The guy was not taking care of himself.

But hey, the good stuff is still pretty damn good, and like I said, Manhattan Symphonie goes down in my book as a truly great Dexter album, so if these things are kinda "budget priced" relative to the cost of individual CDs, it's a solid purchase, for sure.

[mikeweil]

I tend to agree with Jim - although Homecoming was the breakthrough album, he wasn't much above an average good tenor player on this one. On Manhattan Symphonie, however, he was destined to make a classic. Sophisticated Giant is not so far behind, IMO.

I saw the quartet with Cables (or rather Kirk Lightsey, IIRC), Rufus Reid, and Eddie Gladden live, and they were great!

[JSngry]

I find Homecoming to be a mixed bag, actually. There's a few cuts where he's burning as only Dexter could burn, which is to say it's as good as it gets. Yet there.s more where he's in "good" form, which is still Dexter, but to me, he's always been one of those guys where the charm is always there even if the meat's a little lean

I think you get (much) better Dexter from this period on Steeplechase. This is still essentially "Euro-Dexter", not yet returned to the American scene & lifestyle, and perhaps most importantly, not yet with his own band. Sophisticated Giant is a good album, but a "project". It's with Manhattan Symphonie that you finally get the working band, Dexter's own band, and Dexter is still healthy (enough) to dig deep from start to finish.

[JSngry]

I saw the quartet with Cables (or rather Kirk Lightsey, IIRC), Rufus Reid, and Eddie Gladden live, and they were great!

I saw him with Lightsey, James Eubanks, & Gladden, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

[mikeweil]

Mike, as far as I can tell it's only available through popmatters.com

Thanks for pointing me to this - but it's popmarket.com, I found out.

[jazzbo]

Yes, sorry, for some reason I keep thinking and typing it as popmatters.

[mikeweil]

One unforgettable aspect of the gig I witnessed was the opening - it was a 11.00 am open air concert on a Sunday morning, a cloudy sky over the patio of Frankfurt history museum, and Dexter walked on stange with a hangover, it seemed, started talking rather slowly, made remarks that it was quite unusual to play some "mid-day be-bop", and when he finally counted the band off, the sun broke through the clouds, lighting the band at the exact moment they hit the first chord of Moment's Notice - quite a magical moment, sending a silent collective "aahh!" through the crowd ...

[mikeweil]

They're all available from popmarket.com, but I find better prices at other German mailorder shops - none of them offers the Dexter set, which is strange ... maybe it's just too recent.

Edited January 2, 2012 by mikeweil

[jazzbo]

Some of the sets have been released to other vendors, but so far most of the jazz ones have not. Maybe in time, these are still relatively new sets.

[Victor Christensen]

I have all LTD's Columbia recordings, one is great, a couple is pretty good, the rest not that much, but none of Dexter's recordings beats hearing and seing him live, which I have done at least a hundred times during the sixties, those were the days.

Vic

[Brad]

I must have missed this but is this something that just came out?

[jazzbo]

It's only been around a few months.

http://www.popmarket.com/dexter-gordon-the-complete-columbia-albums-collection/details/25962921

[ValerieB]

i believe the only thing you guys haven't mentioned from the box set is "Great Encounters". i'm loving my holiday present to myself!

[Brad]

Thanks Lon. I will be ordering it on Tuesday.

[CJ Shearn]

Valerie, "Great Encounters" is not included because all those are bonus tracks on the other discs or on the bonus disc. All that music that makes up that album IS included though.