This 1963 date is titled for Dexter Gordon's living in self-imposed Parisian exile and recording there with two other exptriates and a French native.
Along with Gordon, pianist Bud Powell and Kenny "Klook" Clarke were living in the City of Lights and were joined by the brilliant French bassman Pierre Michelot.
This is a freewheeling bop date with the band working out on such categoric standards as "Scrapple from the Apple," and "A Night in Tunisia." In addition, American vernacular tunes such as "Willow Weep for Me" and "Stairway to the Stars" are included.
Gordon is at the very top of his game here.
His playing is crisp, tight, and full of playful fury.
Powell, who at this stage of his life was almost continually plagued by personal problems, never sounded better than he does in this session.
His playing is a tad more laid-back here, but is nonetheless full of the brilliant harmonic asides and incendiary single-note runs he is legendary for.
The rhythm section is close-knit and stop-on-a-dime accurate.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scrapple from the AppleCharlie Parker | Dexter Gordon | Play | 07:22 | 16 MB | 49 MB |
| 2 | Willow Weep for MeAnn Ronell | Dexter Gordon | Play | 08:47 | 20 MB | 52 MB |
| 3 | Stairway to the StarsMatty Malneck, Mitchell Parish, Frank Signorelli | Dexter Gordon | Play | 06:57 | 15 MB | 39 MB |
| 4 | A Night in TunisiaDizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli | Dexter Gordon | Play | 08:15 | 18 MB | 53 MB |
| 5 | Like Someone in LoveJohnny Burke, James Van Heusen | Dexter Gordon | Play | 06:19 | 14 MB | 35 MB |
| 6 | Our Love Is Here To Stay | Dexter Gordon | Play | 05:40 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 43 mins | 99 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 264 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Bird | Composer |
| 2 | Bob Blumenthal | Liner Notes |
| 3 | Micaela Boland | Art Direction, Design |
| 4 | Johnny Burke | Composer |
| 5 | Kenny Clarke | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 6 | Michael Cuscuna | Liner Notes, Reissue Producer |
| 7 | Claude Ermelin | Engineer |
| 8 | George Gershwin | Composer |
| 9 | Ira Gershwin | Composer |
| 10 | Dizzy Gillespie | Composer |
| 11 | Dexter Gordon | Primary Artist, Sax (Tenor) |
| 12 | Nat Hentoff | Liner Notes |
| 13 | James Van Heusen | Composer |
| 14 | Gordon H. Jee | Creative Director |
| 15 | Matty Malneck | Composer |
| 16 | Ron McMaster | Digital Transfers |
| 17 | Teddy McRae | Composer |
| 18 | Pierre Michelot | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 19 | Reid Miles | Cover Design |
| 20 | Frank Paparelli | Composer |
| 21 | Mitchell Parish | Composer |
| 22 | Charlie Parker | Composer |
| 23 | Bud Powell | Guest Artist, Piano |
| 24 | Ann Ronell | Composer |
| 25 | Frank Signorelli | Composer |
| 26 | Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer, Remastering |
| 27 | Francis Wolff | Cover Photo, Photography, Producer |
| 28 | Henry J. Wood | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |