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Lee Morgan: Taru
by Jim Santella
Just look at that rhythm section. One of the best in the business. The personnel on Lee Morgan’s 1980 album make this one valuable right from its opening bars. George Benson only appears on three tracks, but Morgan’s regular sidekick Bennie Maupin was in his prime. As was Morgan and the rhythm section. John Hicks, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins each offer a unique sound while fitting Lee Morgan’s upbeat mold. Recorded February 15, 1968 but released in 1980, the ...
Continue ReadingLee Morgan: The Sixth Sense
by Jim Santella
Lee Morgan wrote music that is both enjoyable and intriguing. Hits such as “The Sidewinder" and “Ceora" contain catchy melodies that bounce and sway. It’s the kind of music that stays popular through many generations. Five of his originals appear on this reissue of the trumpeter’s 1968 album; three previously unissued tracks from another recording session have been added. Born in Philadelphia July 10, 1938, Lee Morgan was surrounded by good music. By the age of 18 he was working ...
Continue ReadingLee Morgan: The Sixth Sense
by C. Andrew Hovan
The integrity and consistency of trumpeter Lee Morgan’s work for the Blue Note label starting in the mid-‘50s and running through to the early ‘70s was such that in some ways it must have been taken for granted at the time. Even taking into consideration the commercial pressures that had to be present following the success of “The Sidewinder," Morgan never really made a bad record and many of them have become quintessential artifacts of the hard bop movement with ...
Continue ReadingCharles Earland: Intensity
by AAJ Staff
You hear it at once: a different sound, not always for the better. The music was changing, and Charles Earland joined his easy groove to the lush CTI sound so popular at the time. Results vary: the Burner is hot but too many horns spoil the brew. Take “Goin' Home": a rock guitar crashes through the left speaker, and Charles steps coolly behind him. Now he works the chords for warm strength: the feel of his Black Talk! album. But ...
Continue ReadingCharles Earland: Intensity
by Douglas Payne
For 1972's Intensity, Charles Earland's fifth of ten Prestige discs, the Mighty Burner seemed to be aiming toward something a little different than his usual collection of soulful tenor-organ jams. The presence of two songs from the rock group Chicago and a small trumpet-dominated horn section indicate that jazz-rock was the goal. The result, the LP's four original tracks plus two tracks from the same date originally released as part of Charles III, is one of his very best.
Continue ReadingLee Morgan: Standards
by C. Michael Bailey
Prometheus Unbound. Lee Morgan Standards is a compact disc of previously unreleased material. This is brand new Lee Morgan, and not only that, it is new Lee Morgan in a medium-sized ensemble (septet) setting. These pieces were recorded in January 1967, well after his seminal Hard Bop Blue Note recordings The Sidewinder (1963), Search for the New Land (1964) and Cornbread (1965). Morgan was to record his late Hard Bop/Avant-garde masterpiece, The Procrastinator, in July of 1967. These recordings fall ...
Continue ReadingLee Morgan: The Last Session
by Douglas Payne
The Last Session is the fascinating final chapter in the recording career of Lee Morgan (1938-1972). Formerly a double album set known simply as Lee Morgan, this September 1971 date captures the trumpeter in a most unusual octet setting with seemingly opposing personalities. Morgan and company tackle five long, modally-based songs here and while it's not always satisfying, compelling sounds and styles are explored throughout (most memorably from tenor man Billy Harper). Harper's “Capra Black" opens the disc in a ...
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