Sophisticated Giant

Between 1962 and 1976, Dexter Gordon lived in Europe. His first studio session after returning to the US was this date featuring an 11-member band that included trumpeter Woody Shaw, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist George Cables, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Victor Lewis, with trombonist Slide Hampton handling the arrangements of tunes like “Laura,” Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes’ “How Insensitive,” and Shaw’s “The Moontrane.” It’s lush and swinging, not blaring like a more orchestral big band would do, and Gordon’s rich tenor is centered at all times; on the uptempo pieces, he seems to be charging across the landscape with the band hot on his trail. On the ballads, they surround him like a Greek chorus.