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01-03-2024, 08:58 AM #1joelf Guest
This is a recording is one I will always cherish. It's not only a snapshot of jazz in 1970, with its variegated influences, it has boundless energy and spirit. And I love that he played more flugelhorn. Every new tune is worth copping too. Just gorgeous and interesting stuff.
And it features an always evolving artist. The Lee Morgan of 1970 to me was an even deeper artist than that of the late '50s-'60s. And that was already hard to beat.
The mind boggles at what he could have further accomplished had he lived...
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01-03-2024 08:58 AM
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It's a great live album, and it made me realize that Lee Morgan had come out the other side of his addiction intact. He sort of disappeared in the second half of the 60s.
I'm sure you know the documentary on him that came out a few years ago, I Called Him Morgan.
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Ah the 70's, great era for rock and pop. As for Jazz from that era, well, I'm still trying to catch up to it. Interesting you say Lee was "deeper" in the 70's, and I hear that a lot from people about many of the heavies that lived through the entire post war era up to and beyond the 70's. Like Bill Evans, Freddie, Cannon, Lee, Wayne, Rollins, Herbie, Hank, Miles, Jackie Maclean, Dexter etc etc...
But I just don't see how anyone could prefer their 70's work (or later for that matter) over their 60's work (or even 50's for that matter). I still don't "get" it, and I just can't seem to accept that it's because I'm too square to hear it (I may be wrong...). Besides, everyone knows the cats were way cooler in the 50's and 60's, right?
No?
Hmm... oh well, I'll keep trying, maybe the penny will drop one day, so thanks for posting.
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I like music with a direct inverse to the amount of gizmos and gadgets the recording engineers got. The "better" they got at recording, the worse everything sounds.
Originally Posted by princeplanet
Ah the 70's, great era for rock and pop. As for Jazz from that era, well, I'm still trying to catch up to it. Interesting you say Lee was "deeper" in the 70's, and I hear that a lot from people about many of the heavies that lived through the entire post war era up to and beyond the 70's. Like Bill Evans, Freddie, Cannon, Lee, Wayne, Rollins, Herbie, Hank, Miles, Jackie Maclean, Dexter etc etc...
But I just don't see how anyone could prefer their 70's work (or later for that matter) over their 60's work (or even 50's for that matter). I still don't "get" it, and I just can't seem to accept that it's because I'm too square to hear it (I may be wrong...). Besides, everyone knows the cats were way cooler in the 50's and 60's, right? No?
Hmm... oh well, I'll keep trying, maybe the penny will drop one day, so thanks for posting.
Edit: just wanted to add that I like this Lee Morgan album. It took the engineers longer to figure out how to mess up a live recording.
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It's an electric upright bass for a start, so there's that. And I know what you mean about 70's recording techniques with close mic placements doing away with ambience and bleed (though as you say, not so much with "live" recordings).
But for me it's more about what and how they played back then,more so than how they sounded. Oh, and what they were all wearing in the 70's hasn't dated so well either, ...
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It came out first as a live double LP. That became a CD. Then it was re-issued as a couple full run (complete performance) box sets (3 CD and later an 8 CD set) all with worthy performances through and through.
You realize how rich live recordings are and how much can be learned from them.
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01-03-2024, 02:25 PM #7joelf GuestI meant more harmonic depth and absorption of newer ideas around then while still swinging and keeping the blues roots. Originally Posted by princeplanet
Some people did that, like Hampton Hawes, and to me became more interesting artists than certain others (by no means all) who thought a previous era was the end-all. Music will evolve like anything else, and musicians---including great ones---can choose to be open to fresh ideas or keep the blinders on. Lee and Hampton were open and kept getting better...
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01-06-2024, 12:40 AM #8joelf Guest Originally Posted by supersoul
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Lee Morgan is in my top 2 jazz trumpeters and yeah, I heartily agree with OP's comment of "energy and spirit". There are no bad LM records...well, as long as you don't listen to Night of the Cookers, lol.
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You didn't like his chemistry with Freddie? I was steeped on that Pensativa performance. Originally Posted by mikeSF
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I've got Vol 2, and the whole second side is a stinker. Tune is called "Breaking Point". Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
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Listen to this. I dare you Originally Posted by mikeSF
That's Lee and Freddie prodding one another into one "respectable" performance. Rhythm, surprise, contrast, seamless phrasing, it's got it all and energy. THIS is what trading 4's is all about. The audience reaction says it all.
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01-07-2024, 10:00 PM #13joelf Guest
He also knew when another badass was afoot: Tom Harrell laughingly told in an interview of him sitting in as a teen with Lee. Afterwards Lee told him 'Hey, you're a moth#$%%er, and I'm not gonna let you sit in with us any more'.
And, speaking of Freddie Hubbard, he said something similar (though in fairness after his chops went south):
He was telling about all his wonderful recent accomplishments. 'After I got back I recorded and it was great' and blah blah blah.
Then, in a rare moment of humility: 'And I let Tom Harrell sit in with me in Europe. I'll never do that again!'...
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ok, but then listen to this, I dare you, lol. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
https://youtu.be/sZee7xKFhJQ?si=m5VSyp6a1kkAljbc
Lee Morgan solo at 8:00
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01-08-2024, 08:30 AM #15joelf GuestSolos cool, but what a nothing tune! Originally Posted by mikeSF
Live at the Lighthouse has writing plus great playing...
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A few posts back, I was suggesting this was a rare low moment from Morgan. That's all. Originally Posted by joelf
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That ‘Breaking Point’ is kind of a strange tune, on the original version it alternates between fairly ‘free’ sections and a sort of calypso section, in the solos too. That kind of works because at least you can hear the differences between the sections. But on the Night of the Cookers version it sounds a lot less focussed, it sounds like everyone just kind of gave up and played a vague calypso thing throughout, doesn’t really take off. I don’t think Lee played badly, just seems the tune didn’t give him much to work with.
Anyway here’s the original version, I think it works a bit better, at least it’s clearer what they are trying to do. (Maybe the title refers to the point where the calypso tune keeps getting ‘deconstructed’ each time!)
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Lee Morgan's biography DelightfuLee mentions how after the huge commercial success of The Sidewinder, Blue Note had him record a bunch of albums in a similar style in a short period of time that would continue to release throughout the mid to late 60's. This really bothered him because while he was evolving and developing musically, all his "new" albums were uninspired recordings from years ago. He made a deal with Alfred Lion to release something new that he felt represented his current self better before they continued releasing albums from previous years, and thats why Live at the Lighthouse was recorded.
For reference, between The Sidewinder and Live at the Lighthouse, Lee Morgan recorded 15 albums worth of material that would be released spread out until the 80's. Before Live at the Lighthouse was released in 1971, 8 of them had been released and his most recent album, The Sixth Sense, had been recorded in 1967. He had grown a lot in those four years and wanted an album to prove it to the world.
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That's a shame because while I love Sidewinder, I can also hear how uninspired most of his work is after that, up to Live at the Lighthouse, which I really like, especially after re-listening due to this thread.
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What?? Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Maybe I'm biased because he might be my favorite musician along w Wes but many of those records are my favorites as opposed to the pre Sidewinder material (not withstanding the tracks Lion wanted him to recreate the commercial success of the Sidewinder like the Rumproller) and I'm including the ones that were in the can until 1980.
To each his own I guess......
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If you're unfamiliar I recommend checking out these lps. As I said keep in mind that a couple have that one tune they were trying to sell but most of the rest of the material is stellar Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Search For The New Land
Tom Cat
The Gigolo
Cornbread
Infinity
Charisma
The Sixth Sense
Sonic Boom
Taru
Carumba
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I'll check these out again. Back when I tried to go through his discography I liked Cornbread and Charisma, not enough to play them again, but enough to listen to the whole thing. I see George Benson is on Taru, that should be cool.
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if you like guitar players Grant Green is on Search Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Ceora from Cornbread is considered a jazz standard
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Yeah, I like that one. There's a few gems, but overall I remember being under-impressed. Probably because I wanted more extremely approachable hard bop / soul jazz like Sidewinder. Originally Posted by wintermoon
I have Search For the New Land on now. The title track is long...I think it's ended 3 times now.
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that's the one they used as an opener on the doc I Called Him Morgan Originally Posted by AllanAllen
that record was a departure from his regular writing, hence the title....
another classic....
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