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Dexter Gordon's second Blue Note album recorded in Paris following his expatriation to Europe, "One Flight Up" is an almost criminally under-rated entry in his catalog that finds the tenor sax legend at his most confident and relaxed on three sprawling, mellifluous tracks of Modernist Hard Bop (four on most CD & digital reissues). Inspired by the freedom not just from racism, but also the incessant demands of touring and recording, that life in Europe granted to the African-American jazz musicians like Gordon who took up extended residencies in the clubs there, the tracks on "One Flight Up" (especially the epic opener "Tanya", which stretches out for over eighteen minutes, and its slightly edgier companion piece, "Coppin' the Haven", itself over eleven minutes in length) are more akin to live performances than they are to the more conventionally structured tracks found on most studio albums of the era, their open, modal frameworks giving free range to the soloists to improvise and express their ideas fully unhindered by the constraints of time and length.

The epitome of late-night jazz club cool, "Tanya", anchored by Taylor's unrelenting, asymmetrical groove, has rightly become a standard, its dueling melodic themes creating a tension and release that is embodied in Gordon's and Byrd's contrasting playing styles on it, with Gordon graciously taking on the role of the subdued, bluesy foil to Byrd's soaring, bright horn. "Darn that Dream" finds Gordon at his most introspective, on what is arguably one of the best ballads of his career, his lingering, wistful lines showcasing the emotional expressiveness that has always been at the heart of his style. Most digital reissues are bolstered by the addition of a fourth track, the loose, snappy "Kong Neptune", a Bop scorcher full of complex changes that features Gordon's fieriest playing of the set and a pair of nimble solos from Orsted and Taylor. Why "One Flight Up" isn't as revered today as "Go" and "Our Man in Paris" astounds me, as this is Gordon at his most poised and self-assured, an album that swings and swaggers with the freedom (both figurative and literal) he found upon moving to Europe that deserves to be ranked as one of his best works.