"Cheese Cake" is the opening track from Dexter Gordon's celebrated 1962 Blue Note album Go!, one of the definitive recordings of the hard bop era. Gordon's own composition features a 56-bar AABA form in C minor taken at a driving 219 bpm, an unusual extended structure that gives the soloists extra room to develop ideas. Gordon leads with two commanding tenor saxophone choruses, his massive tone and behind-the-beat phrasing creating a sound that is unmistakably his own. Pianist Sonny Clark follows with a single swinging chorus that displays his gift for bluesy, rhythmically propulsive improvisation. Gordon then returns for an additional chorus, a relatively unusual structural choice that gives the performance a sense of completeness. The rhythm section of Clark, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins provides an ideal foundation for Gordon's spacious conception, swinging hard while leaving plenty of room for the leader's signature rhythmic displacements. Go! was recorded during Gordon's triumphant return to the United States from his first extended stay in Europe, and the album crackles with the energy of a musician eager to prove he remained one of the greatest tenor saxophonists in jazz.
