Lee Morgan Standards CD

It's hard to picture Lee Morgan daintily stepping through the changes to cocktail-hour versions of "My Funny Valentine" or "Misty." Fortunately, that's not what he's doing here. A lot of thought went into this session, which nevertheless remained in the Blue Note vaults from the time of its recording in 1967 until 1998. Duke Pearson's arrangements play Morgan's trumpet off of a reed section of James Spaulding, Wayne Shorter and Pepper Adams, which is in turn supported by the no-slouch rhythm section of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Mickey Roker.

Morgan and Pearson may not have had Miles Davis' capacity to bring Broadway tunes into the jazz repertoire for good, but they did succeed in choosing songs of various vintages that had not yet been played to death, including "Somewhere" from West Side Story, and a then-current pop hit, Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter." No need to cringe--there are plenty of great jazz artists who should only be lucky enough to have made a record this hip while drawing on contemporary material.

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on January 13, 1967. Includes liner notes by David Weiss.

Reissue producers: Bob Belden, David Weiss.

Personnel: Lee Morgan (trumpet); James Spaulding (flute, alto saxophone); Duke Pearson (saxophone); Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Mickey Roker (drums).

Liner Note Author: David Weiss .

Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (01/13/1967).

Photographer: Francis Wolff.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Herbie Hancock; James Spaulding; Mickey Roker; Pepper Adams; Ron Carter ; Wayne Shorter.

Arranger: Duke Pearson.

Personnel: Lee Morgan (trumpet); James Spaulding (alto saxophone, flute); Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Ron Carter (bass); Mickey Roker (drums).

Producer: Alfred Lion.

Re-Issue