ONE SATURDAY NIGHT I HEARD DEXTER GORDON PLAY HIS TENOR SAXOPHONE IN SAN FRANCISCO...

I heard him at a jazz music club named, The Keystone Korner (since closed), in a section of San Francisco known as North Beach.

It was a Saturday night in the early 80's, and Dexter had not long returned to the United States from an extended self-imposed exile in Europe. The Keystone Korner was not a very fancy venue for listening to jazz music, but in a strange way, it seemed to have the right feeling and atmosphere. It was unpretentious, the seats were hard and arranged in rows, as in a church.

Famous Jazz musicians making the San Francisco scene, would often perform there late on Friday and Saturday nights after their regular gigs, to support the struggling club, and keep it operating. This Saturday night Dexter was paying his dues.

The crowd in the Keystone was not a large one, but most of the seats were filled. Those present were still and quiet, much like a church congregation solemnly awaiting a visiting preacher whose reputation had preceded him. They had come to bear witness to a jazz music legend.

Dexter Keith Gordon was a giant in jazz music, and in physical stature. He stood six foot five inches, and he did not play his instrument as much as present it to his audience.

Gordon had held court with numerous other jazz legends: Lionel Hampton, Nat Cole, Louis Armstrong, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie among the luminaries, and he had been an early, significant influence on John Coltrane. Now, here he was in my musical cross-hairs at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco. Here was one of my favorite tenor men.

On this occasion, Dexter lived up to advance billing. He blew hard, long, and with powerful authority, much to the delight of the audience. In between selections, he would wax poetically about his music songs in a slow, deliberate, sonorous tone. He had a deep bass voice that made me think that he could have been a compelling vocalist.

Just toward the end of the night's set, he introduced a jazz music classic with words that I have never forgotten, he looked out at the audience with a smile, and delivered the following line:"There comes a time in the life of every tenor saxophone player, when he has to play Body and Soul!"

And with that cryptic pronouncement, he launched his whole being and tenor sax into "Body and Soul". The crowd went nuts!

I have wondered over the years if, on this night, Dexter Gordon was merely introducing a piece of classic jazz music, or making a more profound experiential observation about life in general.

I never saw Dexter Keith Gordon again