CJ Shearn Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Well, I decided to order this first, and then I'll get the Shaw box, but whats the general concensus of LTD's Columbia dates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 "Home Coming" is of course stone classic! "Manhattan Symphonie" is very good as well, "Sophisticated Giant" is a lovely album with mid-size group and some lush arrangements, then there's the meetings... the two long jams with Griffin from Carnegie Hall might not be that great, but they're great FUN! I recently got "Gotham City" on vinyl and I think I've got them all now... will have to check the details of that box though. Oh, and the "Round Midnight" material - in case it's included (it used to run under Herbie Hancock) is very good, too, at least some of it (Dexter isn't on all tracks, his are all good). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted January 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Thanks ubu. "European soul tenor" can't be all bad! The Hancock stuff is not included but there is a bonus disc including most of Dex's contributions to "Havana Jam", "Montreux Summit", there are additional takes from "Gotham City". There is also "Isn't She Lovely" which I don't know if it was released until now, but apparently that session for that tune did not turn out well. Woody Shaw III and Woody's estate had a huge hand in producing this set, I was not aware Maxine Gordon was Woody III's mom. The additional contributions Dexter made to "Montreux Summit" are issued on Stan Getz's "Complete Columbia Albums Collection" set. Edited January 2, 2012 by CJ Shearn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Great set CJ, you won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) I bought most of them on vinyl when they first came out (apart from the later ones like 'American Classic') and thought they were a breath of fresh air at the time. 'Sophisticated Giant' was my fave at the time and remains so. 'Manhattan Symphonie' is under-rated too. At some stage I will treat myself to this set and the Woody Shaw for loading onto the I-Pod. Edited January 2, 2012 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted January 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Should be sent out within the next few days. I really like what Columbia is doing by issuing them in this way b/c some titles get much needed remastering and some rare titles are included. Are all these sets limited pressings? I already have the previous reissue of "Stepping Stones" which is probably the best Shaw on Columbia, but will be getting that set sometime for the bonus disc. I'm familiar with all those tunes from the "Live" sets on Highnote. Too bad they didn't think to do a 2 disc Legacy Edition at the time but it probably would not have sold well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Is this already available in Germany? Can't find at the sites of the usual suspects ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Manhattan Symphonie is the last great Dexter album, and imo the only great album he made for Columbia. The others range from very good to...waning, and in more or less chronological order, as befits a man who was dissipating along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Mike, as far as I can tell it's only available through popmatters.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted January 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Thanks for the opinion Jim, in my experience you are generally right, although I think Lon has good points also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Well, none of it it sucks, if you know what I mean. But you can for sure hear Dexter becoming more lethargic with each album, and knowing what we know now, there's a reason for that. The guy was not taking care of himself. But hey, the good stuff is still pretty damn good, and like I said, Manhattan Symphonie goes down in my book as a truly great Dexter album, so if these things are kinda "budget priced" relative to the cost of individual CDs, it's a solid purchase, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 I tend to agree with Jim - although Homecoming was the breakthrough album, he wasn't much above an average good tenor player on this one. On Manhattan Symphonie, however, he was destined to make a classic. Sophisticated Giant is not so far behind, IMO.I saw the quartet with Cables (or rather Kirk Lightsey, IIRC), Rufus Reid, and Eddie Gladden live, and they were great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 I find Homecoming to be a mixed bag, actually. There's a few cuts where he's burning as only Dexter could burn, which is to say it's as good as it gets. Yet there.s more where he's in "good" form, which is still Dexter, but to me, he's always been one of those guys where the charm is always there even if the meat's a little lean I think you get (much) better Dexter from this period on Steeplechase. This is still essentially "Euro-Dexter", not yet returned to the American scene & lifestyle, and perhaps most importantly, not yet with his own band. Sophisticated Giant is a good album, but a "project". It's with Manhattan Symphonie that you finally get the working band, Dexter's own band, and Dexter is still healthy (enough) to dig deep from start to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 I saw the quartet with Cables (or rather Kirk Lightsey, IIRC), Rufus Reid, and Eddie Gladden live, and they were great! I saw him with Lightsey, James Eubanks, & Gladden, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Mike, as far as I can tell it's only available through popmatters.com Thanks for pointing me to this - but it's popmarket.com, I found out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Yes, sorry, for some reason I keep thinking and typing it as popmatters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 One unforgettable aspect of the gig I witnessed was the opening - it was a 11.00 am open air concert on a Sunday morning, a cloudy sky over the patio of Frankfurt history museum, and Dexter walked on stange with a hangover, it seemed, started talking rather slowly, made remarks that it was quite unusual to play some "mid-day be-bop", and when he finally counted the band off, the sun broke through the clouds, lighting the band at the exact moment they hit the first chord of Moment's Notice - quite a magical moment, sending a silent collective "aahh!" through the crowd ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) They're all available from popmarket.com, but I find better prices at other German mailorder shops - none of them offers the Dexter set, which is strange ... maybe it's just too recent. Edited January 2, 2012 by mikeweil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Some of the sets have been released to other vendors, but so far most of the jazz ones have not. Maybe in time, these are still relatively new sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Christensen Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 I have all LTD's Columbia recordings, one is great, a couple is pretty good, the rest not that much, but none of Dexter's recordings beats hearing and seing him live, which I have done at least a hundred times during the sixties, those were the days. Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I must have missed this but is this something that just came out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 It's only been around a few months. http://www.popmarket.com/dexter-gordon-the-complete-columbia-albums-collection/details/25962921 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 i believe the only thing you guys haven't mentioned from the box set is "Great Encounters". i'm loving my holiday present to myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks Lon. I will be ordering it on Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted January 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Valerie, "Great Encounters" is not included because all those are bonus tracks on the other discs or on the bonus disc. All that music that makes up that album IS included though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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