Nation : Jazz Great Dexter Gordon Dies

Jazz giant Dexter Gordon, one of the masters of the tenor saxophone, died early this morning at age 67 after a long battle with throat cancer, a close family friend said.

Sue Mingus, the widow of jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus, said Gordon died at the Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. A hospital spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

“He actually died around midnight,” Sue Mingus said, referring to the famous Thelonious Monk composition, “ ‘Round Midnight,” that also served as the title of a 1986 jazz film. Gordon starred in the movie and won an Academy Award nomination for best actor for his role.

Gordon was one of the most celebrated saxophonists in the history of jazz, ranking with such greats as Lester Young and Ben Webster.