Sophisticated Giant: The Life and Legacy of Dexter Gordon

by Gordon, Maxine
ISBN: 9780520350793
Availability:
Price reduced from to $14.98
Used - Trade Paperback - 9780520350793

Available Offers


Pickup at {0} Out of stock at {0} Check other stores
FREE
Ship to Me
$3.99

Overview

Sophisticated Giant presents the life and legacy of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), one of the major innovators of modern jazz. In a context of biography, history, and memoir, Maxine Gordon has completed the book that her late husband began, weaving his "solo" turns with her voice and a chorus of voices from past and present. Reading like a jazz composition, the blend of research, anecdote, and a selection of Dexter's personal letters reflects his colorful life and legendary times. It is clear why the celebrated trumpet genius Dizzy Gillespie said to Dexter, "Man, you ought to leave your karma to science."

Dexter Gordon the icon is the Dexter beloved and celebrated on albums, on film, and in jazz lore--even in a street named for him in Copenhagen. But this image of the cool jazzman fails to come to terms with the multidimensional man full of humor and wisdom, a figure who struggled to reconcile being both a creative outsider who broke the rules and a comforting insider who was a son, father, husband, and world citizen. This essential book is an attempt to fill in the gaps created by our misperceptions as well as the gaps left by Dexter himself.
  • Format: TradePaperback
  • Author: Gordon, Maxine
  • ISBN: 9780520350793
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 8.60 x 0.90
  • Number Of Pages: 296
  • Publication Year: 2020
Language: English