Dexter Gordon - One Flight Up

One Flight Above the Rest

Tenor man Dexter Gordon is joined on this session by Donald Byrd on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Art Taylor on drums, and the young Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass. This album has become one of my favorites in a very short span of time. The highlight of the set is Donald Byrd's incredible "Tanya". Despite clocking in at just over 18 minutes, this piece never seems to last that long. In fact, I wish it were longer. The main theme is hypnotic and the solos are out of this world. I've been listening to quite a few tenor sax players over the past few months (Mobley, Coltrane, Henderson, Brooks, Shorter, Rollins), but Dexter's tone here is so much heavier here than all of the rest. His lungs must extend to his feet! His solos on "Tanya" and "Coppin' the Havens" are stirring and multi-dimensional.

Donald Byrd proves to be the perfect complement to Dex on this album. His tone is almost as impressive as Gordon's. His first cadence of notes in his solo on "Tanya" gives me chills every time I hear it. Kenny Drew is an amazing pianist and this album merely cemented his status as my favorite ivory tickler. He adds so much to this recording. Art Taylor's solid drumming and fills add nuance to each piece. And Neils-Henning Orsted Pedersen provides a full rich bottom end. "Tanya" is by far the standout track, but Kenny Drew's "Coppin' the Havens" is another lengthy masterpiece I can't get enough of. Byrd drops out for the standard "Darn That Dream". The Van Gelder edition also adds "Kong Neptune", a nice Gordon original. The sound of this album is remarkable. The clarity is such that it's like you're sitting in the same room with the musicians.

I don't have the musical language necessary to say as much about this album as I'd like. If you haven't heard it, I implore you to check it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
January 22, 2008

I can't get enough of 'Tanya'!

'Tanya', the first number on this excellent album, runs for 18 minutes. I first heard this tune whilst watching Ken Burn's "Jazz" documentary. It has stuck in my head since then; I simply adore it.

Tanya was written by hard bop trumpeter Donald Byrd, who accompanies Dexter in this performance. They play together to begin with and then each solos through this mesmerizing and hypnotic tune. The splendour of the trumpet and tenor saxophone as instruments is on full display here.

Let's not forget the album includes some of Dexters favourites in the Rhythm section; Kenny Drew on Piano, Art Taylor on Drums and Neils-Hennig Orsted Pedersen on Bass.

An excellent album as whole, or to listen to 'Tanya' alone. October 31, 2006

Masterful

My God, that classic, classic bassline to Tanya still resonates in my soul today, these many years later. As well, Dex's blowing on "Darn That Dream" still gets me all emotional and teary to this day.

What happens when you combine one of the greatest ever jazz tenormen along with the most underrated trumpeter this side of Miles ? Pure and utter magic. January 10, 2006

Transcendent heights

Stop! Time! Enough! Moratorium! That's what I've been telling myself since CD's started becoming as much of a space and storage problem in my digs as LP's. I don't need another Sonny Stitt record, or for that matter another Van Gelder-engineered Blue Note date. I'm going to sell them on Ebay and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross.

But then I picked up yet another recording by the master storyteller of them all, Mr. Long Tall. This time he's not only one flight above every other musical narrator on the planet: he's delivering his soul-stirring message from Mt. Sinai. Doesn't matter which of the four tracks you single out: Dexter is equally inspired on each, spinning out stories that proceed from one climax to the next, "nailing" you with each carefully aimed musical word. His rhetoric is so compelling it doesn't matter if you recognize all of his serendipitous quotes: they become part of the total fabric of his sermon.

Although this album has acquired a semi-cult following because of Dexter's marathon solo on "Tanya" (hear Kurt Elling's equally amazing transcription on "The Messenger"), his contructions on the alternate harmonies of "Darn That Dream" are no less impressive. And if you need further evidence of Dexter's command, "King Neptune" provides that and more--bassist Nils Orsted Pederson and drummer Art Taylor following the Tower of Power with the hardest swinging sounds on the date.

I only pity a Donald Byrd, a Kenny Drew, or any instrumentalist that has to follow L.T. On the other hand, in air this rarefied it doesn't hurt to have a chance to catch your breath. September 4, 2005

"One Flight Up" One Step Down

Within the past year, Blue Note has reissued a number of classic Dexter Gordon albums via its RVG series including "Doin' Allright," "Dexter Calling" and "Our Man in Paris" (see my reviews). EMI continues this trend with this CD, a remastered version of "One Flight Up." Originally recorded in Paris, Dex's June 2, 1964 effort was made, not under the watchful eye of Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder, but instead by business partner Francis Wolff. It features the great tenor saxophonist in a quintet setting with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, and drummer Art Taylor. The album's centerpieces are two extended compositions, Donald Byrd's "Tanya" and Kenny Drew's "Coppin' The Haven," both of which are, in my opinion, an attempt to follow-up on the success of Herbie Hancock's "Takin' Off," where Dex put in a rare appearance as a sideman. It is a combination that is enjoyable, but the second time around it doesn't seem altogether tailor-made for Dex's sound, particularly now that he is in the leadership role. In fact, he seems more himself on the standard "Darn That Dream" and his own "Kong Neptune," a bonus track not included on the original LP (but featured on the first CD incarnation of this album). One wonders if Lion didn't feel the same way, as the following year he brought Gordon back to the States to record his next Blue Note sessions, "Gettin' Around" and what would eventually be released as "Clubhouse." In all, "One Flight Up" is a perfectly good jazz disc, but it is definitely one step down from the likes of "A Swingin' Affair" and "Go." September 14, 2004

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