my dad played saxophone and had a lot of records of dexter gordon.el the impact of his sound and his presence. to be in a room with him... at that time, for me-- i was 23 years old at the time-- and...it just hit me like a ton of bricks-- just his sound, the power of his tone. narrator: he played straight-ahead jazz-- without synthesizers, without electronic bass, without a drum machine-- and the crowds stood to cheer him after every tune. columbia had offered him a contract, and the special two-record live album he made at the vanguard was called homecoming. it sold surprisingly well. there was still an audience for the music that flowed directly from louis armstrong and lester young and charlie parker. [song ends] [applause and whistling] narrator: a year after dexter gordon's triumphant comeback, the drummer art blakey was in new york, auditioning young musicians for his jazz messengers... just as he had been doing for 3 decades. cuscuna: on this night, this young kid sat in on trumpet, and he was astonishing. his ideas were fresh and different an