lunes, 2 de noviembre de 2009

Lee MORGAN – The Last Session 1971


Lee MORGAN – The Last Session 1971

Jazz

Lee Morgan's final studio recording before he was murdered was initially released as a two-fer LP, and the original recordings without alternate takes are included here on one CD. This was a fertile creative time for Morgan, as rivals Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw were embracing the electrified sounds of the times and Morgan followed suit. Harold Mabern is on the Fender Rhodes piano, tenor saxophonist Billy Harper proves a formidable front-line mate, and the vibrant Bobbi Humphrey is heard on flute before she commercialized her sound. It would be the last creative project Humphrey would involve herself in. Add the exciting trombonist Grachan Moncur III, drummer Freddie Waits, electric bass guitarist Jymie Merritt, and acoustic bassist Reggie Workman, and you have a dream team of unstoppable modern musicians who fully embrace progressive concepts and traditional values at once. One of the most famous compositions in modern jazz, "Croquet Ballet," is here in its initial form, and also available on Harper's Black Saint CD. It's a classic waltz sporting the brightest exuberant and memorable melody molded around a dancing image enhanced by unison and harmonic substance, Humphrey's over the top flute, the bold excursions of Harper, and scintillating solos. Closely following this in terms of enduring jazz are "Capra Black" and "In What Direction Are You Headed?" The former is a heavy and dark modal post-bop magnum opus well known in Harper's repertoire, while the latter has Mabern's perky Rhodes setting the pace in a bright, happy strutting 7/8 and diffuse 4/4, again with the atmospheric flute of Humphrey. "Angela" is led by the introspective bass of Merritt and reflects a sighing emotive motif, while the 17-minute "Inner Passions Out," written by Waits, holds an Arabic feel with the drummer also playing a shenai-sounding recorder. One of the bandmembers (unidentified) on mbira prompts a two-note modal framework from the bass players in an underground-to-free romp stomp. It is unfortunate that the brilliant and forward-thinking Morgan was cut down at such a young age, for as the music was changing, he would have adapted, as this final statement valiantly suggests.
By Michael G. Nastos. AMG.
**
As the title indicates, this is the last session Lee Morgan recorded before his tragic death in 1972 -- he was shot by his common-law wife outside, ironically, the jazz club Slug's in New York. Lee Morgan was only 33 years old, yet he had already amassed acclaim in his short life that was more consistent with someone who had lived twice as many years. What kind of music would Lee have made, and what further popularity would he have enjoyed, had he lived to see the resurgence of jazz in the 80s with the popularity of the young lions? I mean, Lee Morgan was the original young lion!
Well, we can only speculate as to that success, but with "The Last Session" we can see the direction that Lee was taking his music in the new decade of the 70s. The band featured on this recording -- Grachan Moncur III, Billy Harper, Bobbi Humphrey, Harold Mabern, Jymie Merritt, Reggie Workman and Freddie Waits -- was not just assembled to cut this session, they were a working, touring band. Only someone as popular as Lee (or Miles, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul/Wayne Shorter or Herbie Hancock) could afford to keep a group of this size and talent together in 1971. And their musical understanding shows on these five extended, modern improvisations. While the material is all original, none of it was written by Morgan -- "Capra Black" and "Croquet Ballad" are by Harper, "Angela" is by Merritt, "Inner Passions Out" is by Waits, and "In What Direction Are You Headed?" is by Mabern.

One need look no further than this last aptly-titled track by Mabern to determine what course Morgan's "new" music was taking. The song is a classic Blue Note groove, reminiscent of the trademark 60s sound but more modern, thanks to the multi-textured horn parts, and the inclusion of two basses, and, for this tune, Mabern on electric piano. A cynic might say that his "new" sound is not that original, and largely drawn from "Filles De Kilimanjaro" and "Miles In The Sky" era Miles Davis. The same cynic would point to the fact that by 1971, Miles had moved on to the electric jazz-funk of "Black Beauty" and "Live Evil," and by comparison Lee was not nearly as hip. I would like to offer a different assessment. I think that by 1971, Lee had grown weary of trends, as he rode the apex of one with "The Sidewinder," and at this point in his career he instead decided to stay with his own vision of where jazz needed to go. In hindsight, he successfully melded the late 60s Blue Note sound, the post-Coltrane expressions and experiments of Archie Shepp and McCoy Tyner, and the electric groove of Miles and Herbie, without falling victim to the Fusion trappings, despite the use of flute and electric bass in his ensemble.

In all, this is a very enjoyable and successful recording, not just some trivia session from the vaults. "The Last Session" is a great last look at a master jazzman taken away from us far too soon.
By Michael B. Richman.
**
Billy Harper- Flute (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
Bobbi Humphrey- Flute
Harold Mabern- Piano, Piano (Electric)  
Jymie Merritt- Bass (Electric)
Grachan Moncur III- Trombone
Lee Morgan- Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Frederick Waits- Drums, Recorder, Drums (Snare)
Reggie Workman- Bass, Percussion
**
01. Capra Black 15:46
02. In What Direction Are You Headed? 16:30
03. Angela 6:24
04. Croquet Ballet 10:50
05. Inner Passions-Out 17:40
**
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