ALBUM REVIEWS

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DEXTER GORDON

“Doin’ Allright”, Blue Note

In 1961, when this date was recorded, the late Gordon had just returned to the jazz scene after an absence of several years due to personal problems. As even a brief listen to this effort will show, Gordon was in remarkable form, blowing flowing, rhythmically-dynamic lines buoyed by his trademark hearty tone.

The program moves from medium tempos tunes like the Gershwin’s pretty “I Was Doing All Right” and Gordon’s cooker, “For Regulars Only” (two takes) to the exhilarating “It’s You or No One,” taken at a gallop. Gordon swings majestically through it all, and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and pianist Horace Parlan add distinctively complex solo voices.

In a word, this reissue is, as Gordon liked to quip, “solid.”

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic).