Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton - A Day In Copenhagen Vinyl LP

With his big, warm tone, sophisticated phrasing, and effortlessly hip quotes, Dexter Gordon was a towering force on the tenor saxophone from the mid-1940s until his death in 1990, cited as a key influence by both Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. After relocating to Europe in the early 1960s and settling in Copenhagen, Gordon often performed with piano trios, which makes this session—with its expanded horn lineup—particularly special. Trombonist Slide Hampton, one of modern jazz’s great players and arrangers, contributes three compositions and all of the arrangements, while Jamaican trumpeter Dizzy Reece completes the formidable frontline.

The rhythm section brings together pianist Kenny Drew and Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, both regular collaborators with Gordon at Copenhagen’s Club Montmartre, alongside drummer Art Taylor, brought in from Paris for the date. The set opens with Hampton’s minor-key “My Blues,” showcasing Gordon’s vibrant playing and nods to contemporaries like Rollins and Coltrane. Other highlights include a brisk reimagining of “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” Hampton’s straight-ahead hard bop number “New Thing,” and a medium-tempo 12/8 transformation of “What’s New” that allows all three horns to shine. Gordon closes with a breathtakingly lush reading of “The Shadow of Your Smile,” accompanied only by the trio—a reminder of his unmatched command of the ballad form.

• Remastered from the original master tape
• 180-gram vinyl
• Includes liner notes and a picture of the original master tape box