''A Swingin' Affair'' is a 1962 album by saxophonist

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, recorded two days after '' Go!'', and with the same line-up.

Recording and music

The album was recorded at

Van Gelder Studio The Van Gelder Studio is a recording studio at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States. Following the use of his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, for the original studio, Rudy Van Gelder (1924– ...

Englewood Cliffs Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, whose population at the 2010 United States census was 5,281. Gordon's quartet contained pianist

Sonny Clark Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom. Early life Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of Pit ...

, bassist

Butch Warren Edward Rudolph "Butch" Warren Jr. (August 9, 1939 – October 5, 2013) was an American jazz bassist who was active during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Warren's mother was a typist at the CIA. His father, Edward Sr., was an electronics tech ...

, and drummer

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

. Of the six compositions, three are standards, two were written by Gordon, and one was contributed by Warren.

Release and reception

''A Swingin' Affair'' was released in early October 1964.''Billboard'' Oct 17, 1964
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The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' picked "

You Stepped Out of a Dream "You Stepped Out of a Dream" is a popular song with music written by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Gus Kahn that was published in 1940. The song has become a pop and jazz standard, with many recorded versions. It was a centerpiece in the 1941 mu ...

" as the album's highlight, but described the session as a "not altogether riveting date".

Track listing

#"Soy Califa" (Gordon) – 6:27 #" Don't Explain" ( Herzog Jr.,

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

) – 6:06 #"

" (

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

Kahn Kahn is a surname of German origin. ''Kahn'' means "small boat", in German. It is also a Germanized form of the Jewish surname Cohen, another variant of which is ''Cahn''.

) – 6:34 #"The Backbone" (Butch Warren) – 6:48 #"

Until the Real Thing Comes Along "(It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along" is a popular song first published in 1936. Background In 1931, Alberta Nichols wrote the music and Mann Holiner wrote the words for a song titled "Till the Real Thing Comes Along" which was ...

" (

Cahn Cahn is a Germanized form of the Jewish surname Cohen, another variant of which is Kahn. People with the surname Cahn * Jonathan Cahn (born 1959), American Messianic minister and writer * Andrew Cahn (born 1951), British civil servant * Anne ...

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * '' Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * ''Chaplin'' (2011 film), Ben ...

, L.E. Freeman, Mann Holiner,

Alberta Nichols Alberta Nichols (December 3, 1898 – February 4, 1957) was a popular songwriter of the 1930s and 1940s. Together with her husband, lyricist Mann Holiner, they composed over 100 songs, of which their most famous were "Until the Real Thing Comes A ...

) – 6:49 #"McSplivens" (Gordon) – 5:43

Personnel

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

– piano *

– bass *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swingin' Affair, A 1964 albums Dexter Gordon albums Blue Note Records albums