Here is a recording from hard bop masters that need to be re-heard and re-evaluated in order for you to renew your jazz ears!
Trumpeter Lee Morgan was one of the young studs on the trumpet from the mid 50s until the early sixties, making his name with the classic Jazz Messengers of 1961. He lost his life on a freak shooting incident, robbing jazz of one of its true giants. He’s teamed up here with old friend Clifford Jordan who was an essential member of bands with Charles Mingus and Horace Silver. Together, they team up with a dream rhythm section of Reggie Workman/b, Ed Blackwell/dr and John Hicks/p in that jazz hub of Baltimore MD for a sizzling mix of bop and modal, stretching out like Jack La Lanne for four tunes that range from 14 to 21 minutes.
What’s immensely attractive about this recording is the mix of free jazz drummer Blackwell holding in the wild mustang reigns along with Coltrane alumnus Workman’s sizzling bass work. Hicks keeps the team in check like a charioteer in Ben Hur, laying down a thrilling foundation for Jordan’s searing tenor and Morgan’s stratospheric trumpet. Soloing is the thing here, and the ideas bounce off the walls like a Mensa seminar on “Solar” and “Like Someone In Love” while “Straight, No Chaser” has more angles than an Escher painting. This is a must have for fans looking beyond the Blue Note of life.
Fresh Sound Records