Search - Lee Morgan :: Best of

The music is 5 star but short compilation is injustice

Frank S. Cohen | Leominster, MA | 07/07/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Buy his individual Blue Note albums. Whether you simply want an introduction or an efficient compilation (of someone in which you have peripheral interest), an individual album will serve you just as well, if not better. Every album contains the equal or superior of this compilation."

For Rockers who want to hear Jazz with a beat!!!!!!!!!!!

rash67 | USA | 11/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gee I like this album! The kind of happy upbeat stuff that seemed to end with the end of the sixties.In the sixties, Jazz artists were dismayed to see so much of the young audience listening to Rock. Lee Morgan recorded "Sidewinder", his most consistant album. The title track has a 4/4 Rock drum beat, a soul/funk/boogaloo bass line and rapid fire very close harmony trumpet and tenor sax jazz lines on top. The critics at the time called it a sell-out, but it was very popular. Sidewinder, and the albums that followed like "Cornbread" were attempts at Jazz/Rock Fusion from a completely different direction than Miles Davis Fusion "Bitches Brew".Morgan did many subsequent albums with this same formula, one funky Jazz song with a rock beat and a bunch of often lesser cuts, for most of the sixties, trying to recreate this magic formula.I always associate him with his best tenor player, Hank Mobley - these were called "M & M's". It sounds like he and his tenor play are joined at the hip or read each other's minds. I was surprised to see how many of these songs on this sampler were NOT recorded with Mobley!Nevertheless, Blue Note has skimmed most of the funky boogaloo creme of the Lee Morgan albums and put them all on one CD. Also, the cha-cha "Ceora" and some ballads, too. Good mix.A great intro to Lee Morgan.This is a great music for Rockers who think they don't like Jazz or Rockers who want to hear more Jazz. Infectious, once you hear it, it stays in your head."

They got this one right (great compilation)

G. McCoy | Kansas City, MO | 03/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like Lee Morgan and/or straight-ahead 60s bop, you're going to love this record because the song selection is outstanding. Great ballads and great grooves make this a record you can play straight through over and over. It's one of my favorite Blue Notes of all time (along with the Hancock Best Of and the Horace Silver Best Of (both volumes) and the Wayne Shorter Best Of...). Honestly, I prefer the original albums, but people who aren't jazz fanatics aren't going to buy all of those. This is a great place to start, and if you intend to buy the originals, it will help you choose among them."