Copenhagen Coda

Jazz giant and tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon bids Copenhagen farewell on 'Copenhagen Coda', recorded live at Jazzhus Montmartre in 1983.

This album marks Gordon'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, Gordon is accompanied by the accomplished and versatile pianist Kirk Lightsey, wonderful bass player David Eubanks and the master drummer Eddie Gladden. He 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.

'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!