DEXTER GORDON - Homecoming. Live At The Village Vanguard (1977)

Dexter Gordonmade three so-called "comebacks" over his long and distinguished career: the first in 1960 when he began his tenure with Blue Note after a battle with drug addiction, the third in 1986when he was chosen to play thelead in ‘Round Midnightand the second - which the double-LPHomecoming documents in fine fashion - was his triumphant permanent return to the United States after nearly 15 years in a self-imposed exile in Europe. 

Nobody, especially not Dexterhimself, could have imagined the adoring reaction of the young American jazz fans who literally lined up in droves to see him perform upon his return to New York City. It's hard for us to imagine now, but Dexter had become a forgotten figure in the mainstream jazz world, the bop and hard bop style of jazz he helped pioneer had fallen out of fashion, pushed to the fringe as the more commercial leanings of fusion and smooth jazz became the flavors of the day. His return was not expected to make any waves in those lean years of modern jazz, even if played by a guy that influenced such legendary figures as Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. But make waves he did. As he says in the liner notes about his first return show at the Storyville club,

And anyone expecting that the 53 year old tenor might have lost a step or two was quickly corrected in this thinking. The liner notes describe a scene at the Village Vanguard where Dexter's fellow jazz elder Charles MIngus (the two legends had played together as high schoolers in Los Angeles - now that would have been something to see!) watches him rehearse for his week-long stint at the club, urging him on with shouts and laughter, proclaiming,

And while I am an admirer of Dexter's work (primarily his Blue Note output), the real draw for me in my quest to acquire this album was the presence of Woody Shaw. I'm a giant fan of his work, and the records he would make for CBS in the couple of years following the release ofHomecoming are among the best that herecorded over his distinguished career (luckily original copies of these LPs can be had for a bargain, since they are still under-appreciated, or you can drop some serious dough and get the  Mosaic box set that collects them all). Shaw was a great choice to play alongside the tenor legend, he was one of the only musicians still working in the realm of straight-ahead jazz in the 1970s, and he is often referred to as the last great innovator on the jazz trumpet.

Shaw's playing here doesn't disappoint, his fiery tone and focus complements Dexter perfectly. The respect he had for Shaw is apparent in his choosing to record two of the trumpeters compositions ("Little Red's Fantasy" and "In Case You Haven't Heard"). No disrespect at all to Dexter,but Homecoming is very much a Woody Shaw record, much of the brilliance of the record would be severely lacking without him.

The eight tracks on the album are all extended workouts clocking in at over 10 minutes each, which amounts to two tracks per side for the double-LP. This allows everyone to stretch out, with each performer taking turns soloing throughout. Gordondrops a lot of his trademark "references" in his solos, and the veterans Ronnie Matthews,Stafford James and Louis Hayes (all of whom had played alongside Shaw at various times earlier in the '70s) are all fantastic and add exciting and inventive solos throughout. Everyone is clearly drawing off the energy of the standing room only crowd and they are all at the top of their game, making Homecoming not only a great document of Dexter Gordon's return to America, but also one hell of a great modern jazz record.

Tracks

CD1

1. Gingerbread Boy (Jimmy Heath)

2. Little Red’s Fantasy (Woody Shaw)

3. Fenja (Dexter Gordon)

4. In Case You Haven’t Heard (Dexter Gordon)

5. It’s You on No One (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne)

CD2

1. Let’s Get Down (Ronnie Mathews)

2. ‘Round Midnight (Hanighen/Monk/Williams)

3. Backstairs (Dexter Gordon)

4. Fried Bananas (Dexter Gordon)*

5. Body and Soul (Eyton/Green/Heyman/Sour)*

DEXTER GORDON  tenor saxophone

LOUIS HAYES  drums

WOODY SHAW  trumpet, flugelhorn

RONNIE MATHEWS  piano

STAFFORD JAMES  bass