Our Man In Paris (Rudy Van Gelder Edition)

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. This Rudy Van Gelder-remastered edition of the CD features the same extras the original CD issue did, but with marginally improved sound; these were derived from two-track masters anyway so they already sound great. If you aren’t an audiophile you won’t hear the difference and this is a waste of money; it’s another blatant attempt by Blue Note to get you to shell out hard-earned dollars for something you already have that’s already very fine. If you’re going to obsess until you can’t stand it and break down anyway, then go ahead, get it over with. But the earlier CD release is plenty fine for most listeners, so no thank you Blue Note — this CD is unnecessary. – Thom Jurek