For listeners hesitant to pick up Proper's excellent
Settin' the Pace package (four discs), the label's single-disc
Dexter Gordon offering,
The Chase, might be the best bet. Including a sampling of the same late-'40s bop sides heard on the box set, this 13-track disc features
Gordon in his early prime, playing with the likes of
Sonny Criss,
Wardell Gray,
Bud Powell,
Max Roach,
Trummy Young, and
Lucky Thompson. Besides several classic studio cuts ("Dexter Digs In," "Dexter Rides Again," "Long Tall Dexter"), there are also three extended live recordings to check out ("The Chase," "The Hunt," and "Byas a Drink"). Some classic bop.