This excellent Columbia album was recorded less than a year after
Dexter Gordon's well-publicized tour of the United States following a dozen years spent living in Europe. With assistance from such other major players as trumpeters
Woody Shaw and
Benny Bailey, vibraphonist
Bobby Hutcherson sounds in superlative form on
Woody Shaw's "The Moontrane," four standards, and his own "Fried Bananas." In addition to the original program (which features
Dexter with an all-star tentet), the 1997 CD reissue adds two 1979 features for vocalese singer
Eddie Jefferson ("Diggin' It" and "It's Only a Paper Moon") that were originally released on
Gordon's Great Encounters; trumpeter
Shaw and trombonist
Curtis Fuller co-star with
Gordon. An excellent acquisition. ~ Scott Yanow