Videos

Compact discs are generally the gift of choice for the jazz enthusiast, but books and videos on jazz can be provocative and informative alternatives. Here are some of the year’s top books and videos, as selected by members of The Times’ jazz staff:

Dexter Gordon, “Live at the Maintenance Shop,” Shanachie (58 min., $19.95). Here is the first tenorman of be-bop in performance just three years after returning from 14 years in Europe. His tone in this video, shot in the same studio and time frame as the Woods project, is sturdy as the trunk of a redwood, his statements a compelling mix of simplicity, grace and whammy. Gordon--along with George Cables on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Eddie Gladden on drums--tantalizingly and relaxedly investigates “Green Dolphin Street,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and “Tanya.”