Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Lee Morgan: City Lights

227

Lee Morgan: City Lights

By

Sign in to view read count
Lee Morgan: City Lights
In an era of oversaturation in jazz characterized by an abundance of young performers who seem to favor imitation at the expense of originality, it's invigorating to hear a timeless gem like City Lights. It's hard to contemplate the fact that this music was recorded half a century ago. The precision and inventiveness of Lee Morgan and company still sounds fresh and as hip as anything being recorded today. More than just a blowing session, which was typical of so many Blue Note dates from this era, the five tunes were tightly arranged for sextet by a young Benny Golson, who also contributed three compositions.

The exotic sounding title cut, "City Lights, is an up-tempo swinger that lets Morgan, tenor saxophonist George Coleman and trombonist Curtis Fuller stretch out their post bop fieriness on top of the relentless sizzle of Art Taylor's ride cymbal. After pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Paul Chambers (bow in hand) get a chance to show off their wares, Taylor and Morgan trade fours and build the intensity to dizzying heights.

Fuller leads off the soloing on "Tempo De Waltz with a weaving of swinging melodic ideas that dance gracefully over a bouncy 3/4 tempo. Morgan sings with power and conviction on the beautiful ballad "You're Mine. Listening to his solo reminds one of the incredible innovations forged in the 1950s by young lions like Morgan and Clifford Brown. "Kin Folks, a Gigi Gryce greaser, closes the session in a wonderful bluesy way. The arrangement is incredibly slick and everyone gets a chance to blow.

This wonderful reissue, part of Blue Note's Rudy Van Gelder series, features five giants of jazz who were young, on fire, and ready to take the world by storm.

Track Listing

City Lights; Tempo De Waltz; You're Mine You; Just By Myself; Kin Folks;

Personnel

Lee Morgan
trumpet

Lee Morgan: trumpet; Curtis Fuller: trombone; George Coleman: tenor and alto sax; Ray Bryant: piano; Paul Chambers: bass; Art Taylor: drums.

Album information

Title: City Lights | Year Released: 1958 | Record Label: Blue Note

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.