Lee Morgan's Search for the New Land: Superb Hard-Bop From 1966

When someone asks me: What's the best Lee Morgan (1937-1972) album? Typically they expect The Sidewinder answer to come out of my mouth.

I can certainly agree, that album is one of the best, and perhaps even equal to my favorite:

Search For the New Land:

A sextet album recorded in 1964 but released 2 years later, and yes it does sport a stone classic jazz line up:

Lee Morgan on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, the underrated Reggie Workman on bass, the superb Billy Higgins on drums, and for my money, the best jazz guitarist of them all Grant Green.

I love the solo Grant takes on the title track, the track is well worth the 15 minutes. Green's solo happens at the 9:15 mark if you listen to the video below.

Hearing the solo in context with the other great solos from Morgan, Shorter, and Hancock is what drives the point home, wow the clean no-B.S. sound is what sets green apart in my opinion.

When I see a Blue Note with Grant Green as a side man, I know it will be a good session.  I know Green will contribute something worthwhile for my ears.

The centerpiece of the album is of course the title track, but believe me there are plenty of reasons to like the album. "Mr. Kenyatta" is nice tune, darned if Green doesn't kick butt again. I love the urgency of the track.

Lee delivers one of my favorite fiery solos on the track "see below", he really digs in on the track stretching the boundaries, the theme on "Mr Kenyatta" is really inventive hard-bop. This album in my opinion is the pinnacle of where hard-bop could go before going out side to the avant-garde.

The Ballad "Melancholee" seems like a Wayne Shorter vehicle, or least that Wayne was in Lee Morgan's mind when it was written. Wayne's playing and the composition has this enigmatic quality to it. I wonder if that would be the same if Joe Henderson was in the tenor spot?

"Morgan the Pirate" is another great advanced hard-bop tune, Shorter and Green do their thing again. These guys were so in the zone in 1964, they were all fresh and creative, pushing themselves beyond where anyone could have conceived the music from a contemporary perspective. I can certainly see why Shorter and Hancock went the fusion route later on by the end of the decade.

 Listen to this record, or any of Herbie, Wayne, or Lee's other records of the 63-67 period, what else can you do inside the bop/hard-bop tradition?

The logical place would be to go to other styles like world music and popular music for inspiration...and ultimately the use of electronic instruments is what they did.

Search For the New Land is certainly one of the best hard-bop records I have ever heard, and fits nicely inside the post bop sub-genre, though the music never becomes too high-brow for the less than well healed jazz aficionado.

Wayne Shorter's Most Avant-Garde Blue Note Album: The All Seeing Eye

Back 20 years ago or so when I first started getting into modern jazz:

It was always a shock to the system when I'd discover an artist and be into a certain style of music that was more commercially accepted, only to be turned upside down by a different more challenging sound.

I think the first Shorter album I checked out was Speak No Evil, then Adam's Apple. When I finally worked my way over to this complex masterpiece The All Seeing Eye, I was shocked.

I didn't easily take to the avant-garde styled jazz, actually, ironically I did early on like free jazz of the Coltrane's Ascension variety, pure aggression some of that music is, and it just seemed to be easily understood to me.

Albums like Dolphy's Out to Lunch, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure are composed pieces in a purer sense, at least they sound that way to me. I had a harder time understanding the chamber jazz style. 1965's The All Seeing Eye is Definitely chamber jazz.

It would be asinine on my part to try to explain this music track by track, other than perhaps the moods and tempos. This is music that takes many listens to digest.

For what it's worth, this is the album I feel Wayne sounds the most like Coltrane, he digs into his solos with more earnestness, an less mystery perhaps?

This music is not that far removed from what Wayne was doing with Miles Davis at around this time. pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Ron Carter offer support along with Joe Chambers on drums. The Music is definitely more experimental, and less melodic than the Davis quintet material.

What makes this album so special are the horns, Shorter, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, James Spauding on alto, and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, they all get to stretch out here.

Then there's Allan Shorter, Wayne's older brother playing flugelhorn on his own composition "Mephistopheles". A bizarre monotonous droning track that settles into a drum beat that will pound your head to Excedrin headache number 9.

Ultimately this album is fantastic if you like cerebral avant-garde style jazz. I know some will think music like this is pretentious, but really, how can you fault an artist for creating music he wants to as an artistic statement and not necessarily as a pay day? 

Shorter, in the liner notes for the album exclaimed that he had God in mind when creating this music. "Titles like "Genesis" "All Seeing Eye", and "Chaos" bring this to the forefront. Then his brother's "Mephistopheles", which brings in the devil and the struggles with that force, so you can see, this is thinking people's music, it's chamber jazz.

Do you dare to battle The All Seeing Eye?

Herbie Hancock's Blue Note 4109 Takin' Off is a Nice Beginning

Pianist Herbie Hancock's debut as a leader Takin' Off is one of his best, though none of his Blue Notes should be missed.

Recorded and released in 1962, it is a stellar record. Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Dexter Gordon on Tenor sax, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums foretell the caliber of music.

Takin' Off is best known for the would be hit from Mongo Santamaria "Watermelon Man".

Hancock's original here is not as Latinized as Santamaria's for sure, It's just damned good hard bop.

Believe me, it's funky for sure, but in a Horace Silver kind of way. Trumpeter Hubbard and saxophonist Gordon play on the funkiness too. I like Gordon in particular here, he doesn't usually sound like this. Seems a little rougher his tone.

Billy Higgins does some interesting things also on the track during Herbie's Solo. Listening again as I am writing this, Herbie sure does sound like Horace Silver here. I do consider Herbie the superior pianist, Listening to the Miles Davis 65-68 quintet pretty much proves that point. But I really like Herbie when he is feeling his funky vibe.

So how's the rest of the album?

 Well, honestly, the rest of the albums is as good or better than the track the album is known for "Watermelon Man". "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets" are all solid hard-bop. The Ballad "Alone and I" is a showcase for Dexter Gordon, who is my favorite of all the ballad players.

The rest of the album, is what I would call fine advanced, but not too out there hard bop. A fantastic toe tapping debut from an all time great.

Of course this album does not come close to what was to come. Maiden Voyage, and Speak Like A Child for instance, as something new to the jazz vocabulary.

Takin' Off has a blowing session vibe to me. I feel like the music was made for the label more than the artist. A cutting your teeth, paying your dues album perhaps.

Right now original high grade vinyl copies of Takin' Off are selling for $250 or more, if the past is any indicator, that not at all cheap price will seem like bargain basement prices in the years to come. Just in the past 3 years I have seen so many 60's issued Blue Note spike.

Even 1970's liberty label copies of 4109 are bringing 30 bucks in lesser condition. Won't be long and those will likely be out of hand price wise too.

The First 5 Blue Note Jazz Records You Should Add to Your Collection

If you're new to jazz, but are reading this post, it's very likely that you've already had your first experience with jazz.

Perhaps like me, your preconceived notions about the music were wrong?

I didn't understand the scope of styles, dozens of sub-genres within jazz to discover, some better than others of course.

Everyone has their own tastes. Blue Note jazz of the 50's and 60's is the epicenter of instrumental jazz, so you'll need to investigate

 So many classic records on all labels, but Blue Note is the one label I couldn't live with out. Outside perhaps Miles Davis and his Columbia output, you won't find better small group jazz than on Blue Note.

Below I have chosen my 5 favorite from the label that fit into the traditional hard-bop style. The avant-garde/post bop style is also a passion of mine, but if you're just getting into jazz I think these 5 below are the best choices.

You won't stop at this five I am sure, so you can find many more classic in this blog, and a great articles with 25 albums that should be in every jazz collection.

Art Blakey: Moanin' - Blue Note 4003 

Blue Note 4003 recorded in 1958 may be the greatest jazz record of all time, hyperbole? Well, perhaps, but it is a darned good album.

Dominated by the great tenor saxophonist/composer Benny Golson, who wrote 4 of the tunes on the album.

"Along Came Betty", "Are You Real", "The Drum Thunder Suit", and "Blues March", were all written by Golson, they are all standards today.

Pianist Bobby Timmons'  contributes the best known standard here "Moanin", a jubilant blues call-and-response anthem that embodies the Blue Note Sound. Perhaps only John Coltrane's title track for his lone Blue Note Blue Train comes close?

John Coltrane: Blue Train - Blue Note 1577

John Coltrane's 1957 masterpiece was his only one recorded for Blue Note records, it's a classic. You'll hear Coltrane, trumpeter Lee Morgan, and trombonist Curtis Fuller as seriously kick-ass front line of horn players.

They do not hold back, the title track is one rapid-fire blowing session style solo after another. The title track, Locomotion, and "Lazy Bird" are also fine hard-bop pieces.

Dexter Gordon: One Flight Up - Blue Note 4176

One Flight Up is my personal favorite Dexter Gordon album, and the album's centerpiece is the Donald Byrd composition "Tanya".

 "Tanya" is breathtaking in how effective it is, for 17 minutes Gordon and Byrd both play some fantastic solos, with an easy strutting blues that sounds like Blue Note.

 The ballad "Darn that Dream" proves as well as any other tune, that Dex was the best ballad player of all the tenor men.

Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage - Blue Note 4195

Maiden Voyage from 1964 is little more advanced musically than the previous hard-bop albums highlighted here. More subtlety, and many different textures than on the typical hard-bop Blue Note date.

The title track, "Dolphin Dance", and "Eye of the Hurricane" are classics that push the hard-bop style ahead. I promise you, if you're new to jazz, and haven't ventured to far outside of safer styles, Maiden Voyage is a great start.

Lee Morgan: Vol: 3 - Blue Note 1557

Lee Morgan's Vol 3 is an underrated classic that doesn't get much pub.

Volume 3's claim to fame is that it's yet another classic example of Benny Golson's greatness.  He composes all 5 tunes on this wonderful album.

My favorite tune is "Hasaan's Dream" the Middle Eastern vibe is irresistible. I like this version of Golson's standard "I Remenber Clifford" too, Volume 3 is one of the better Blue Notes, and one of the most expensive to get as an original first press vinyl copy.

Maiden Voyage: Herbie Hancock's Mid 60's Masterpiece

Maiden Voyage, and album recorded in March of 1965, and released in 1966, was released on the independent jazz record label Blue Note.

 Pianist Hancock's Maiden Voyage is one the greatest albums ever recorded in jazz, and certainly one of the classics from Blue Note label in the 1960's.

At this time, Hancock was on a roll, he was the pianist in the second great quintet of Miles Davis, and was quite simply carving out a niche for himself as one of the great jazz artists of the 20th century.

The title track was originally made for a Faberge' commercial,  but was re-purposed for the album.  Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and the Underrated George Coleman on tenor saxophone dig into these modal compositions quite well, they offer some very interesting interplay, and seem to understand what Hancock is after here. Perhaps a oceanic mood, sailing ships etc... what you might encounter on a voyage,  high waves, hurricanes, and dolphin's dancing?

Drummer Tony Williams and bassist Ron Carter offer the typical fine support you would expect. When you take the Davis quintet albums Hancock participated in, along with the music Herbie was making during the mid 60's while he was in his mid 20's, it is astounding!

 Drummer Williams was only 19 at the time of this recording by the way, incredible the classic albums he was the drummer on, Out to Lunch from Eric Dolphy, and Point of Departure from Andrew Hill to name a few, all before the age of 20.

If you ever wondered if trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was over hyped, Maiden Voyage is an album that should dispel that myth. His solo on the title track is pretty darned good, his notes ring true, I still don't understand how he doesn't lose his balance at the 3:50 mark (see above)?

The title track, "Dolphin Dance", and "The Eye of the Hurricane" by every sense of the word are jazz standards. Personally I think the album strikes the perfect balance between the hard-bop jazz that Blue Note was famous for, but also that slightly outside music with just a slight avant-garde influence. Certainly not as far out as Jackie McLean went, but a nice contemporary inside-outside style of music.

I have also felt that Maiden Voyage had a Kind of Blue sort of vibe, being modal in a lot of spots that's not surprising, but the feel of the music, a challenging, yet contemporary at-the-same-time-sound, marks this classic as one of the most accessible jazz albums of all-time, just like Kind of Blue was before it.

Note: The above pictured copy was a mid 70's liberty issue. I paid less than 20 dollars for it, a very reasonable price. These 70's issues are rising in price. People who can not afford the hundreds of dollars for a 60's NY USA first press, like these black b Liberty issues. They sound pretty good and do have Van Gelder in the dead wax.

Herbie Hancock Speak Like a Child: Liberty Address Blue Note LP

Would it be crazy to suggest Speak Like A child is Herbie Hancock's masterpiece?

It is an album that has grown on me over the years. I always liked for the Gil Evans influence.

God I would have loved to have heard Miles Davis play on this.

Herbie mentioned he wanted an album that was more uplifting, and would relay the possibilities of life, and perhaps a better future.

He wanted to remember the qualities you lose from childhood, perhaps the innocence of a first kiss? Speak Like a Child is a soft and smooth around the edges album, not light weight, and not over produced. But have a soft slow to unfold foundation. Just a gorgeous piece of music.

I don't think Herbie Hancock  ever made a bad acoustic jazz album, and every single one of his Blue Note's are worth having for sure.  My favorite tracks on Speak Like A Child are "Riot" and the title track.

This pictured vinyl copy of the album ran me less than 20 bucks, honestly I can't remember what I paid for sure, but right now you can get a copy easily for less than 30 dollars for a VG+ or better Liberty Pressing.

One Night With Blue Note DVD: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This 1985 Concert

If you are an avid fan of Blue Note jazz and you don't already have the DVD pictured One Night With Blue Note, you must get it immediately, for it is that good.

Immediately inside the first 5 minutes of this DVD you will realize that Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard is here to serve notice that he's the baddest trumpet mutha on the planet circa 1985.

Freddie's solo on Herbie Hancock's  "Cantaloup Island" is brash, in your face, pure Freddie! The Price is well worth it just for this performance. Oh yeah, Joe Henderson and Herbie are are pretty darn good too.

If that isn't enough, you also get a killer Jackie Mclean solo on "Appointment in Ghana," These dudes rose to the occasion and possibly considered it a last hurrah of sorts. The underrated trumpeter Woody Shaw also offers support to McLean.

 Many of the greats show up, drummer Art Blakey, Saxophonists Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Lou Donaldson, and Stanley Turrentine, vibist Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, and even a very lengthy solo performance of pianist Cecil Taylor on "Pontos Contados".

Another highlight is Charles Lloyd going above and beyond with the island themed "Tone Poem". Lloyd delivers a stellar Coltrane styled solo over top the nice groove of pianist Michael Petrucciani.

There has been some talk about the original VHS cassette and or Laserdisc are the ways to obtain this timeless classic, as some footage has been cut from the DVD, McCoy Tyner's performance of "Passion Dance" is not on this DVD. I don't know about you, but I don't have a VHS or Laserdisc player?

I am thankful to have this DVD, I do return to it quite often. It has a feature that can omit the narrator, who does a good job by the way, Some have commented they prefer the music without the narrator led ins, but I don't mind it at all.

In closing Freddie Hubbard, Charles Lloyd, and Cecil Taylor stand out the most, but all who perform do so  in stellar fashion.

In case you didn't know, producer Michael Cuscuna along with Capitol Records head Bruce Lundvall were responsible for this show and the resurrection of the reissue program. I know I am for one thankful that Cuscuna has done so much to keep jazz music alive.

Herbie Hancock: The Prisoner (1969)

Herbie Hancock's final album for the Blue Note Label was 1969's The Prisoner.

A concept album, a tribute to slain civil rights leader and American hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Herbie said he was able to be his real self on this album more than any other leading up to it for Blue Note.

Personally I feel the album has real maturity in it, sort of an even flow through out, hints at free jazz, and modal jazz.

For my money the star of this larger band is tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson. "Boy Joe sure does show up a lot on the best bop sessions of the mid to late 60's".

Joe's husky tone, owes nothing to Coltrane, a rarity by its self, Henderson really adds a lot of fire to the album. Herbie Composed all but one track on the album, "Firewater" is a buster Williams composition that I like rather well.

 The opening track "I Have a Dream" has a fast walking intro that reminds me of Wes Montgomery's "Four on Six" from The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. Can't really find one complaint on the album, just a fantastic post bop modern jazz album.