Having Dexter Gordon back home, where he has been able to blow his tenor sax prolifically on tour and in the recording studio, has raised the level of be-bop-derived discourse substantially. If the move hasn't produced as many transcendent moments (particularly on his recent LPs) as the press coverage has led us to expect, we can blame the vagaries of available accompanists and the prevailing mood as much as any inherent weakness in Gordon's conception. In his thirty-plus years of activity, Gordon has generally responded best with just a piano/bass/drums rhythm team behind him, so it's no surprise that this pair of new releases, made for Gordon's Danish Steeple Chase label a year before (Bouncin' with Dex) and right after (Biting the Apple) his return to New York in 1976, contains his finest recent vinyl work.

Each album features a magnificent rhythm section tailored to the saxophonist's hard-blowing proclivities. The drummer always seems to be the main catalyst behind Gordon, and, with favorite Billy Higgins on board, Bouncin' becomes a highly charged celebration (the assertively percussive Spanish pianist Tete Montoliu also helps). The contribution of Al Foster, best known for his drumming with Miles Davis' last band, is very important on Biting. Foster's chatty support has its gratuitous moments, but his sense of time is impregnable, and clearly to Gordon's liking.

Gordon lets the music pour forth on both sessions, a bit more thoughtfully on Biting (possibly in response to the leanly eloquent chords of Barry Harris, a paragon of bop piano), which produces a difference in mood, not quality. There are many moments, particularly on side one of Biting, when Gordon begins one of his pet quotes, only to slyly alter it or back away at the last moment—a sure sign he's playing for keeps. The tunes are modern jazz staples, treated with appropriate, caution-to-the-wind respect. Music like this is what the Dexter Gordon renaissance is all about. (RS 265)

BOB BLUMENTHAL