Lee Morgan Appreciation
Big_Stacks
"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
Hey,I just noted in another thread that, to me, Lee Morgan doesn't seem to get the love of other legendary trumpet players (e.g., Clifford Brown, Miles, Dizzy, Hubbard, Byrd, etc.). Well, I want to change that (to some extent) and give this incredible musician the love he rightly deserves. Here's one of my favorite tracks (an absolutely beautiful, samba-induced ballad) by the man, the late and great Lee Morgan.
Peace,Big Stacks from Kakalak
Peace,Big Stacks from Kakalak
Comments
to me he is def. one of the g.o.a.t.
well intentioned but CORNY!! reminded me of this:
wack as hell
lee morgan deserves better
I really don't think this is true.
At least not amongst jazz heads.
He may get less props amongst, like, breaks.com type dudes, probably because he died before getting too far into the sell-out schitt that some of the above dudes got caught up in during the late sixties and seventies.
i think that is inaccurate. jazz purists and critics generally started turning on him when he entered his soul-jazz period with hits like the side-winder. alot of people consider that sellout, pandering shit...
as if the 70's output of doanld byrd or freddie hubbard (the cti stuff) is some complete sellout schlock. those albums were commercial but contain so much brilliance.
There may have been a contemporary backlash against dancefloor stuff like Sidewinder, but 40+ years later, who's not rating really important post-Sidewinder compositional works like Search for the New Land? And, really, how far is his soul jazz of that era from the Jazz Messengers material? Art Blakey's explicit goal was the repopularizing of jazz. I just don't know anybody who checks for jazz--from critics, to radio show hosts, to civilians--who's not rating him as one of the greats.
I give credit to Byrd for trying some interesting things in his early ventures towards popular music, but I don't think most of those projects--like Electric Byrd--really work. The only one I rate is the later Places and Spaces--which is brilliant--but doesn't have much Byrd left on it. It's really a total Mizell Brothers project.
The Hubbard CTI schitt is pretty hard to defend. Red Clay is listenable, but still pretty slick and uninteresting.
you make some valid points about byrd but "red clay" is hands down one of the greatest jazz albums of any period ever. the band is insane and freddie is playing at the top of his powers and composing like a motherfucker.
I think this is true.
As for albums and tunes of his I rate, I would go for:
"Suicide City" and "Cunning Lee" from this are just right. Can't find either on YouTube, unfortunately.
Also, there is a great live version of "Angela" from "The Last Session" album with acoustic rather than electric piano which I really rate, but can't remember where this is from...
Playing, writing, arranging (thanks Benny Golson!) are all unsurpassed.
Lee Morgan really had a different sound to the other BN players, like Freddie Hubbard had that warm open tone often on the Flugelhorn ('Olilioqui Valley') whereas Lee had a much sharper and more direct tone, there's a definite difference and outcome on the sessions that they played on around the mid-sixties creating a different emotion. 'Edda' was the first track that really blew me away and still does from his output, they were doing different things in the same arena, both great players.
i pretty much ride for his entire catalog as a band leader and a player, i can not recal anything of his i actually dislike, there is some stuff that i can take or leave.
.
Yes. I think it suited bop moreso than the "Soulful" sets, but it doesn't mean the soul-jazz is finger-crucifix. I'd say the same of Miles too.
^this^ is truth
^this^ on the other hand is not true. You don't have to like it, but there is no way a song like "Intrepid Fox" isn't 'interesting'
Somewhat, but I was digging his tone long before I realized he was from here.
b/w
Who will flip him the hardest?
^^^^JAMS OUT TO POLAR AC