Lee Morgan - Complete Blue Note Lee Morgan Fifties Sessions (1956-58) [1995] (4 x CD's)

 

JAZZ SUNDAY

LEE MORGAN

Lee Morgan - Complete Blue Note Lee Morgan Fifties Sessions (1956-58) [1995] (4 x CD's)

A description of Lee Morgan's tragically short career reads like a classic Greek tragedy. Given his first trumpet at age 12, by age 14 he was sitting in with famous professional jazz musicians. By age 18 he was a featured soloist in Dizzy Gillespie's band and had landed a recording contract with Blue Note records. By age 34 he was dead; murdered by his wife while performing in a club. Between ages 18 and 34 he had periods of early fame, drug related obscurity, and a triumphant return to even greater fame. The recordings presented in this box set cover his initial period of fame as a band leader with six sessions recorded between 4 November 1956 and 2 February 1958. During this time, Lee's phenomenal rise to prominence warranted that he be leader of these sessions, despite being younger and less experienced than the other artists on these sessions. The four CDs contain 37 tracks that were initially released on six albums.

The music throughout the collection is hard bop along the lines of the Jazz Messengers of the late 1950's. While all of the participants make valuable contributions to each of the recordings, it is clear that Lee Morgan is the star. These recordings show how Lee had assimilated the styles of Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie to create his own unique voice. 

Like all Mosaic box sets, this one is a model for box set packaging. The 4 x CD's are packaged in a 12 x 12 box with a Francis Wolff photograph on the front. The box contains extensively researched and well-written notes by Bob Blumenthal in a beautiful 16-page booklet supplemented with the excellent photography of Francis Wolff. In addition to putting these recordings in proper historic perspective, the author includes session-by-session details and track-by-track analysis of the music along with complete details regarding recording date and personnel. This Mosaic set was limited to 5000 copies, which sold out quickly. Like many Mosaic sets, this one now sells for many times its original price because jazz collectors place such a high value of Mosaic box sets for their packaging and excellent sound quality.  (Amazon)

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Pt.1     Pt.2 

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Track lists

CD1

01 Lee Morgan Gaza Strip 3:57

02 Lee Morgan Reggie Of Chester 4:54

03 Lee Morgan Little T 8:24

04 Lee Morgan Little T (Alt Tk) 8:09

05 Lee Morgan Stand By 5:50

06 Lee Morgan Roccus 8:17

07 Lee Morgan The Lady 6:47

08 Lee Morgan Latin Hangover 6:44

09 Lee Morgan Whisper Not 7:21

10 Lee Morgan His Sister 6:31

CD2

01 Lee Morgan D's Fink 7:44

02 Lee Morgan Slightly Hep 6:28

03 Lee Morgan Where Am I? 5:50

04 Lee Morgan Hasaan's Dream 8:44

05 Lee Morgan I Remember Clifford 7:09

06 Lee Morgan Mesabi Chant 6:10

07 Lee Morgan Tip-Toeing (Alt Tk) 6:41

08 Lee Morgan Tip-Toeing 6:42

09 Lee Morgan Domingo 9:19

CD3

01 Lee Morgan Just By Myself 9:26

02 Lee Morgan City Lights 5:45

03 Lee Morgan You're Mine You 6:02

04 Lee Morgan Tempo De Waltz 6:24

05 Lee Morgan Kin Folks 9:44

06 Lee Morgan Just One Of Those Things (Alt Tk) 7:52

07 Lee Morgan Just One Of Those Things 7:17

08 Lee Morgan Heavy Dipper 7:05

CD4

01 Lee Morgan A Night In Tunisia 9:23

02 Lee Morgan Lover Man 6:52

03 Lee Morgan New-Ma 8:16

04 Lee Morgan Since I Fell For You 5:36

05 Lee Morgan Personality 6:14

06 Lee Morgan All At Once, You Love Her 5:29

07 Lee Morgan Who Do You Love, I Hope 4:59

08 Lee Morgan Candy 7:03

09 Lee Morgan C.T.A. 5:06

10 Lee Morgan All The Way 7:22

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