Dexter Gordon

Dexter Keith Gordon (February 27th, 1923 - April 25th, 1990) a Los Angeles native tenor saxophonist, was one of the first bebop tenor players to carve out a distinctive style. He matured into one of the major tenor voices in post-war jazz -- an exciting and original player who was perhaps the single strongest influence on the young John Coltrane. He ranks with Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and a dozen or so others as one of the modern masters of the tenor saxophone.

From 1940 to 1980, Dexter Gordon led his own ensembles and played with such jazz greats as Lionel Hampton, Tadd Dameron, Charles Mingus, Louis Armstrong and Billy Eckstine. He also played with the Fletcher Henderson band in L.A. for a few weeks in 1947.