since 1962) was the cause of ecstatic celebration within the jazz community. All of the old strengths were intact—the gigantically resonant tenor sound, earthmoving rhythmic drive, comprehensive harmonic control, quotation-infested sense of humor and enveloping passion—and listeners starved for an ungimmicked jazz experience were overwhelmed. When Columbia signed Gordon and recorded him at New York's Village Vanguard last December, a classic album of contemporary straight-ahead playing seemed in the offing.

Unfortunately, the two-disc Homecoming isn't it. Gordon has his intense, celebratory moments ("Fenja," "It's You or No One," "Gingerbread Boy"), though they fall short of the potential he displayed last fall; other solos are less involved collections of pet licks and quotes. The album's real problem, however, is improper focus. After an opening tenor solo on each track, the band of trumpeter Woody Shaw and drummer Louis Hayes takes over with their own good but less brilliant postbop. Shaw's horn is verbose and often bristling, but pianist Ronnie Mathews can't escape cliché in his solos. Since the shortest track runs 11 minutes, the amount of accompanists is disproportionate and an ultimate dilution of Gordon's presence.

Dexter is due back in the States in June; those who are unable to experience him live will get a better measure of his greatness on The Apartment (Inner City IC 2025), a 1974 Danish recording with a superior rhythm section. (RS 240)

BOB BLUMENTHAL