Jazz giant and tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon bids Copenhagen farewell on his new album Copenhagen Coda – Live at Montmartre 1983. This album marks DG’s final farewell to friends and fans in the Danish capital, with which he had had a twenty year love affair. He is quoted as having said: “I don’t think they [his fellow American musicians living in Europe] got the love I got in Copenhagen” The concert was part of a TV production by the national Danish Broadcasting Corporation, who have documented this golden era in Danish jazz history.
On this recording, DG is accompanied by the accomplished and versatile pianist Kirk Lightsey, wonderful bass player David Eubanks and the master drummer Eddie Gladden. DG proves that he hasn’t lost a step, as he projects enormous authority on stage, being a fountain of sound and ideas, melodically as well as rhythmically. He generates a stunning energy, taking off on a flight that is able to captivate the audience with his tenacious be-bop, somewhere between Lester Young and Coltrane, with a bold, dry sound.
DG arrived in Copenhagen in 1962, where he settled and became a regular on the jazz scene, most often at the legendary Jazzhus Montmartre. During the years 1964 to 1967, he played Montmartre 6 nights a week during the summer months. One of those evenings, where DG was accompanied by Tete Montoliu, NHØP and Alex Riel, was recorded and subsequently released as the album Montmartre 1964 on Storyville Records. His year-long stint in Copenhagen helped remold and vitalize DG after his lean years. In return, he also helped Montmartre build and maintain its reputation as one of Europe’s premier jazz venues in the 1960’s, attracting many American jazz players, including Ben Webster, Bud Powell, Kenny Drew and many, many more. All of them contributing substantially to the vitality of the Danish jazz scene, but more than anyone, DG is the musician synonymous with folk’s perception of Montmartre.
Copenhagen Coda is a celebration of and a tribute to Dexter Gordon’s legacy in Copenhagen. The audience in the Danish capital loved the sophisticated giant “Copenhagen Slim” immensely, and their love was reciprocated - Copenhagen Coda is a testament to this intense year-long love affair!
