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Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches, so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and "Sophisticated Giant". His studio and performance career spanned more than 40 years. Gordon's sound was commonly characterized as being "large" and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat. He inserted musical quotes into his solos, with sources as diverse as "Happy Birthday" and well-known melodies from the operas of Wagner. Quoting from various musical sources is not unusual in jazz improvisation, but Gordon did it frequently enough to make it a hallmark of his style. One of his major influences was Lester Young. Gordon, in turn, was an early influence on John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Rollins and Coltrane then influenced Gordon's playing as he explored hard bop and modal playing during the 1960s. Gordon had a genial and humorous stage presence. He was an advocate of playing to communicate with the audience, which was his musical approach as well. One of his idiosyncratic rituals was to recite lyrics from each ballad before playing it. From Wikipedia (

Songs

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1
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Watermelon Man
2
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Blue Bossa
3
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Scrapple From The Apple (Rudy Van Gelder Edition / 2003 Remaster)
4
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You've Changed
5
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Cheese Cake (Rudy Van Gelder Edition / Remastered 1999)

Albums

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More Than You Know

2025
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Dexterity

2024
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Soul Sister

2022
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Plays the Blues

2025
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On Prestige

2024
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Keystone Korner

2021
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Darn That Dream

2025
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Copenhagen Coda

2023
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Young Dex - 1941-1944, Vol. 1 (REMASTERED 2025)

2025
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On Savoy: Dexter Gordon

2022

Singles & EPs

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Hanky Panky

Single2023
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Soy Califa (Live)

EP2014
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The Chase and the Steeplechase (Live)

EP1952
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Candlelight Lady (feat. Kenny Drew, Mads Vinding & Ed Thigpen)

EP2016
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Cheese Cake (Live)

Single2014
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American Classic

EP2008
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L.T.D: Live At The Left Bank

EP2001
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Loose Walk (Live)

Single2020
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After Hours (Live) (feat. Rolf Ericson, Lars Sjösten, Sture Nordin & Per Hulten)

EP1988

Videos

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Dexter Gordon - It's You or No One

johnnystaccata5.2K views
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Soy Califa - Dexter Gordon

corubi202K views
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Dexter Gordon - Don't Explain

Don Quixote14K views
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“Blue Bossa“ (Dexter Gordon solo) - Bb transcription

LeadCheat174K views
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A Night In Tunisia

Peter Menard4.6K views
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Cheese Cake (Dexter Gordon) - Easy Solo Example for Tenor Sax

Yasuhiro Fujii22K views
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DEXTER GORDON | I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry | TENOR SAX TRANSCRIPTION | JAZZ

LET'S PLAY SAX?13K views
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Dexter Gordon - “Cheese Cake” Transcription

Apple Trapezoid85K views
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Moody Day South of Bella Bella

Haida Gwaii Forest Bathing6.9K views
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Dexter Gordon -Lady Bird (Belgium, 1964) [1/2]

Julio Cortázar1.4M views

Featured on

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Swinging Jazz

PlaylistYouTube Music
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Jazz Christmas

PlaylistYouTube Music
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Cozy Jazz

PlaylistYouTube Music
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Jazz Cocktail Party

PlaylistYouTube Music
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Upbeat Jazz Commute

PlaylistYouTube Music
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Background Jazz

PlaylistYouTube Music
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A Fine Romance

PlaylistYouTube Music
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Essential Jazz

PlaylistYouTube Music

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