Dexter Gordon

• 4 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Though he first recorded in the late-1940s, Dexter Gordon’s Blue Note debut Doin’ Allright—recorded and released in 1961—marked a rebirth for the great tenor saxophonist after a decade in which drug addiction and legal troubles limited his output. But his Blue Note years put him back on top with a run of essential albums that stand as classics of the jazz canon. Doin’ Allright featured a top flight quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pianist Horace Parlan, bassist George Tucker, and drummer Al Harewood on a set that presented bluesy hard bop originals like “Society Red” and highlighted Gordon’s stunning balladry on the standard “You’ve Changed.”

PERSONNEL:

• FREDDIE HUBBARD, trumpet
• DEXTER GORDON, tenor sax
• HORACE PARLAN, piano
• GEORHE TUCKER, bass
• AL HAREWOOD, drums

Englewood Cliffs, N.J., May 6, 1961

TRACKS:

• A1. I Was Doing All Right
• A2. You've Changed
• A3. For Regulars Only

• B1. Society Red
• B2. It's You or No One