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"An occasion to appreciate Dexter’s resounding musical genius as well as his wish for major social transformation.”—Angela Y. Davis, political activist, scholar, author, and speaker
Sophisticated Giant presents the life and legacy of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon (1923–1990), one of the major innovators of modern jazz. In a context of biography, history, and memoir, Maxine Gordon has completed the book that her late husband began, weaving his “solo” turns with her voice and a chorus of voices from past and present. Reading like a jazz composition, the blend of research, anecdote, and a selection of Dexter’s personal letters reflects his colorful life and legendary times. It is clear why the celebrated trumpet genius Dizzy Gillespie said to Dexter, “Man, you ought to leave your karma to science.”
Dexter Gordon the icon is the Dexter beloved and celebrated on albums, on film, and in jazz lore--even in a street named for him in Copenhagen. But this image of the cool jazzman fails to come to terms with the multidimensional man full of humor and wisdom, a figure who struggled to reconcile being both a creative outsider who broke the rules and a comforting insider who was a son, father, husband, and world citizen. This essential book is an attempt to fill in the gaps created by our misperceptions as well as the gaps left by Dexter himself.
Sophisticated Giant presents the life and legacy of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon (1923–1990), one of the major innovators of modern jazz. In a context of biography, history, and memoir, Maxine Gordon has completed the book that her late husband began, weaving his “solo” turns with her voice and a chorus of voices from past and present. Reading like a jazz composition, the blend of research, anecdote, and a selection of Dexter’s personal letters reflects his colorful life and legendary times. It is clear why the celebrated trumpet genius Dizzy Gillespie said to Dexter, “Man, you ought to leave your karma to science.”
Dexter Gordon the icon is the Dexter beloved and celebrated on albums, on film, and in jazz lore--even in a street named for him in Copenhagen. But this image of the cool jazzman fails to come to terms with the multidimensional man full of humor and wisdom, a figure who struggled to reconcile being both a creative outsider who broke the rules and a comforting insider who was a son, father, husband, and world citizen. This essential book is an attempt to fill in the gaps created by our misperceptions as well as the gaps left by Dexter himself.
Price: $19.95
Pages: 296
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
15 September 2020
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520350793
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
"Maxine Gordon astutely frames the fiery daring of Dexter Gordon’s generation of bebop innovators in the context of rising black consciousness and creative agency in midcentury America…“Sophisticated Giant” is a work of considerable sophistication, the first-person testimony of its subject employed with affectionate discipline, smartly contextualized and augmented by material from interviews Maxine Gordon conducted with the tenor saxophone masters Sonny Rollins and Jimmy Heath, the record producers Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cucsuna, and others."
— David Hajdu,
Maxine Gordon is an independent scholar with a lifetime career working with jazz musicians. As an oral historian and archivist in the fields of jazz and African American cultural history, Sophisticated Giant fulfills the promise she made to her late husband, jazz saxophonist and Academy Award-nominated actor Dexter Gordon, to complete his biography.
1. The Saga of Society Red 1
2. An Uncommon Family 13
3. Education of an Eastside Altar Boy 26
4. Leaving Home 35
5. Pops 44
6. Blowin’ the Blues Away 51
7. Business Lessons 62
8. Mischievous Lady 77
9. Central Avenue Bop 87
10. Trapped 99
11. Resurgence 113
12. New Life 120
13. Very Saxily Yours 134
14. Trouble in Paris 144
15. The Khalif of Valby 155
16. Homecoming 167
17. Bebop at Work 179
18. Round Midnight 191
2. An Uncommon Family 13
3. Education of an Eastside Altar Boy 26
4. Leaving Home 35
5. Pops 44
6. Blowin’ the Blues Away 51
7. Business Lessons 62
8. Mischievous Lady 77
9. Central Avenue Bop 87
10. Trapped 99
11. Resurgence 113
12. New Life 120
13. Very Saxily Yours 134
14. Trouble in Paris 144
15. The Khalif of Valby 155
16. Homecoming 167
17. Bebop at Work 179
18. Round Midnight 191