A trio performance of Dexter Gordon's Cheese Cake from Chad Lefkowitz-Brown's YouTube jazz standards series, recorded in 2020. Taken at a medium-up tempo near 189 BPM in C minor, the tune's 56-bar AABA form provides an unusually expansive harmonic canvas compared to standard 32-bar structures. Lefkowitz-Brown delivers a focused two-chorus tenor saxophone solo through the extended form, while Dan Chmielinski takes one chorus on acoustic bass. The tune is closely associated with Gordon's classic 1962 album Go!, and this pianoless trio reading strips the arrangement to its essentials, highlighting the melodic contour of Gordon's composition. The longer form creates natural dramatic arcs within each chorus, and the moderate swing tempo sits in a comfortable pocket that invites lyrical improvisation. Cheese Cake remains one of the most enduring hard bop compositions, and this version pays homage to its creator while adapting the material to a lean trio context.
