Benny Golson’s writing for this date uplifts it beyond most of the jam session sets of the period. Trumpeter Lee Morgan (then 19) is in excellent form, holding his own with his impressive sidemen (trombonist Curtis Fuller, George Coleman on tenor and alto, pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Paul Chambers…
The trumpeter, then just 19, teams up with baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones for a particularly strong set that is highlighted by a lengthy and fiery “Night in Tunisia,” “Lover Man” and a rapid rendition of “Just One of Those…
It seems strange that the music on this CD was not released initially until 1980. Trumpeter Lee Morgan had had an unexpected hit with “The Sidewinder,” so his more challenging recordings were temporarily put aside. As it turns out, this was one of Morgan’s better sets from the 1960s…
This date was one of trumpeter Lee Morgan’s more obscure Blue Note sessions, but fortunately, it has been reissued on CD. Matched with altoist Jackie McLean, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, Morgan interprets two of Cal Massey’s compositions, McLean’s “Midtown Blues” and his own…
Trumpeter Lee Morgan performs two funky boogaloos, a ballad, and three complex group originals on this album whose music was first released in 1980. This is a transitional date with the hard bop stylist leaning in the direction of modal music and even anticipating aspects of fusion. His sextet…
From late 1967 through 1968, Lee Morgan fronted a fine sextet with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and the less-heralded tenor saxophonist Frank Mitchell. The group recorded The Sixth Sense, but by September of 1968, Morgan, Mitchell, and drummer Billy Higgins remained, the band revamped and reduced to a quintet….
To follow up on his unexpected boogaloo hit “The Sidewinder,” Lee Morgan recorded Andrew Hill’s somewhat similar “The Rumproller” but this time the commercial magic was not there. However the trumpeter, tenor-saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Victor Sproles and drummer Billy Higgins all play quite well on…
Carried by its almost impossibly infectious eponymous opening track, The Sidewinder helped foreshadow the sounds of boogaloo and soul-jazz with its healthy R&B influence and Latin tinge. While the rest of the album retreats to a more conventional hard bop sound, Morgan’s compositions are forward-thinking and universally solid. Only…
Although recorded in 1965, this excellent Lee Morgan Quintet session (which features the trumpeter with altoist Jackie McLean, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Billy Higgins) was not released until 1980 and quickly went out of print until this 1998 CD reissue. It deserved a much better…
