Dexter Gordon - Go! (1962)

"Love, warmth and sheer joy are all present in Gordon's sound and attack." - from the original album liner notes by Ira Gitler.

Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs studio on Monday, August 27, 1962, this album is swinging, classic hard bop from one of the masters of the genre. The band is tight and supportive. My only complaint would be that Billy Higgins is a bit overactive on his kit at times, but I love how Sonny Clark is as good an accompanist as he is soloist - totally tuned in to what everybody is doing at all times. And then there's Gordon's solid blowing over it all. Dig!

Gordon - tenor saxophone
Sonny Clark - piano
Butch Warren - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

I was able to resist the temptation to use a popular board game reference, but the liner notes could not:

Meanwhile, proceed directly to Go! You won't collect $200.00, but you will get a monopoly of Melody Avenue, Swing Street and Inspiration Place.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "displays a fine sensitive brand of wailing"
• Stereo Review: Recording of Special Merit
• DownBeat (★★★★★): "There are few LPs one can get high on simply by listening; this is one of them."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★

Critics seem split as to whether Go! is Gordon's best or the later Our Man In Paris (1963). Nevertheless, Go! was selected by Blue Note in 1987 as one of the 25 Best Albums ever issued on the label.

In 2018, Go! was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Update: In 2024, uDiscover Music ranked this album at #9 on its list of The 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: All six are great, but of all the tracks, my top picks are Cheese Cake, Love For Sale, and the beautiful ballad I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Round Midnight - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986)
American Classic (1982)