Dexter Gordon, Saxophone, 1923, Los Angeles, CA
Dexter began playing the clarinet at age 13 and studied music with Lloyd Reese. He played in a rehearsal band that included Charles Mingus and Buddy Collette. In 1940 he began a three year association with Lionel Hampton, touring and recording. After leaving Hampton in 1943 Dexter recorded as the leader of a quintet session which included Nat "King" Cole as a sideman. During the mid '40s he worked in the Los Angeles area with Lee Young, Jesse Price, and for a few weeks with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. After playing briefly with Louis Armstrong, Gordon moved to New York where he teamed up with Billy Eckstine's orchestra. His recordings with Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and others soon made him a leading figure in the bop movement. For the remainder of the decade he alternated between the East and West Coasts. In the late '40s he and Wardell Gray made a series of "saxophone duets" that became very popular in jazz circles. During most of the '50s his problems with drugs curtailed his musical activities. By the 1960s he was back on a full schedule and returned to New York where he recorded as a leader. In 1962 Gordon made a tour of Europe that was so successful he decided to remain in Europe for the next 15 years. Based in Copenhage, he appeared in all of the major European jazz festivals and also taught music. In1975 he also toured Japan. He returned permanently to the U.S. in 1976, was elected to the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980 and named "Musician of The Year" by readers of Downbeat Magazine. In 1986 he was the star of the film "Round Midnight" and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role. Gordon was a major force in the emergence of modern tenor sax styles. His main influence was Lester Young. He also listened to Herschel Evans and Illinois Jacquet. Gordon's unique style strongly affected the two leading tenor saxophonists of the succeeding generation, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. Dexter Gordon died in 1990.
Mildred Bailey, Singer, 1907, Tekoa, WA
Mildred began her career in Spokane Washington as a cinema pianist and radio performer. In 1929 she made her first recording with the guitarist Eddie Lang, and for the next few years sang with the orchestra of Paul Whiteman. It was her brother, Al Rinker, a member of Whiteman's Rhythm Boys vocal trio, that introduced her to Whiteman. On radio, she sang for the shows of George Jessel and Willard Robison (1934-35), and with Benny Goodman in 1939. During this period she also worked with Red Norvo's group and recorded Hoagy Carmichael's "Rockin'Chair", and became known as the "Rockin Chair Lady". From 1933 to 1945 Mildred was married to Red Norvo, and the couple were referred to as "Mr. & Mrs. Swing". Bailey was the first white singer to absorb and master the jazz-flavored phrasing, enunciation, and swinging rhythm of her black contemporaries. Her strong influences were Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday. She was essentially a jazz pianist, and worked well with people such as Bunny Berigan, Chu Berry, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, and Teddy Wilson. She often used her voice as an instrument, and was a skilled scat singer. Mildred Bailey died in 1951.
Chuck Wayne, Guitar, 1923, New York, NY
