Albums That Deserve Another Listen

Wardell Gray & Dexter Gordon - The Chase And The Steeplechase

The original release of the classic tenor sax battle between Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon. Recorded live on February 2, 1952, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. 

Originally issued as a 10-inch long-play album titled The Chase And The Steeplechase on Decca Records (Catalog No. DL 7025).

Tracks:

Side 1. The Chase 11:30

Side 2. The Steeplechase 13:48

Personnel:

Wardell Gray: tenor saxophone
Dexter Gordon: tenor saxophone
Conte Candoli: trumpet
Bobby Tucker: piano
Don Bagley: bass
Chico Hamilton: drums

A classic meeting of two powerful tenors on the west coast, Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon, locked together beautifully in this seminal recording from an early Gene Norman concert. The format is loose and free, a key bop illustration of what the tenor sax could offer, when set in the hands of giants like this, and each track runs for an entire side of the record, with mighty bold solos from both Gray and Gordon, blowing head to head in the "chase". Plus trumpet from Conte Candoli, piano from Bob Tucker, bass from Don Bagley, and drums from Chico Hamilton. The album only features two long tracks "The Chase" and "The Steeplechase" but both of those are more than enough.