Dexter Gordon thrived on the attention of European jazz fans while living there during the 1960s and early '70s, while he also had a wealth of opportunities to record for labels on the continent. This 1975 session for Steeplechase, one of a dozen he made as a leader for the label in the mid-'70s, finds him in top form, accompanied by pianist
Tete Montoliu, along with frequent collaborators
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and drummer
Billy Higgins.
Gordon's big tone carries the brisk treatment of
Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce," though he inserts a few humorous quotes into his solo as well. Two versions of the standard "Easy Living" are played at a loping tempo in a heartfelt manner, though the master is a tad better in its execution. The familiar bop vehicle "Four" (usually credited to
Miles Davis, though this CD acknowledges
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson as its more likely composer) explodes in a furious performance.
Gordon wrote the Latin-flavored "Catalonian Nights" especially for
Montoliu, while the tenorist's "Benji's Bounce" is a lively, thinly disguised reworking of
Thelonious Monk's "Rhythm-a-Ning" (which is itself based on the changes to "I Got Rhythm").