Editing Dexter Gordon (section)

===The 1950s===
During the 1950s, Gordon's recorded output and live appearances declined as heroin addiction and legal troubles took their toll.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Gordon made a concert appearance with Wardell Gray in February 1952 (''The Chase, The Steeplechase, Take the A Train, Robbins Nest, Stardust'') and appeared as a sideman in a session led by Gray in June 1952 (''The Rubiyat, Jungle Jungle Jump, Citizen's Bop, My Kinda Love''). After an incarceration at [[Chino Prison]] from 1953 to 1955, he recorded the albums ''[[Daddy Plays the Horn]]'' and ''[[Dexter Blows Hot and Cool]]'' in 1955 and played as a sideman on the [[Stan Levey]] album, ''This Time the Drum's on Me''. The latter part of the decade saw him in and out of prison until his final release from Folsom Prison in 1959. He was one of the initial sax players for the [[Onzy Matthews]] [[big band]] in 1959, along with [[Curtis Amy]]. Gordon continued to champion Matthews' band after he left Los Angeles for New York, but left for Europe before getting a chance to record with that band. He recorded ''[[The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon]]'' in 1960. His recordings from the mid-1950s onward document a meander into a smooth [[West Coast jazz|West Coast]] style that lacked the impact of his bebop era recordings or his subsequent Blue Note recordings.

The decade saw Gordon's first entry into the world of drama. He appeared as a member (uncredited) of Art Hazzard's band in the film ''[[Young Man with a Horn (film)|Young Man with a Horn]]'' (1950). He appeared in an uncredited and overdubbed role as a member of a prison band in the movie ''[[Unchained (film)|Unchained]]'', filmed inside Chino. Gordon was a saxophonist performing [[Freddie Redd]]'s music for the Los Angeles production of [[Jack Gelber]]'s play ''[[The Connection (1959 play)|The Connection]]'' in 1960, replacing [[Jackie McLean]]. He contributed two compositions, ''Ernie's Tune'' and ''I Want More'' to the score and later recorded them for his album ''Dexter Calling...''.