Search For The New Land

Performer: Lee Morgan
Artist: Wayne Shorter; Herbie Hancock; Grant Green; Reggie Workman; Billy Higgins
Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Producer: Alfred Lion
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Lee Morgan (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Grant Green (guitar); Reginald Workman (bass); Billy Higgins (drums). Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 15, 1964. Includes liner notes by Nat Hentoff. This set (the CD reissue is a duplicate of the original LP) is one of the finest Lee Morgan records. The great trumpeter contributes five challenging compositions ("Search for the New Land," "The Joker," "Mr. Kenyatta," "Melancholee," and "Morgan the Pirate") that deserve to be revived. Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist Grant Green, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Billy Higgins are all in particularly creative form on the fresh material, and they stretch the boundaries of hard bop (the modern mainstream jazz of the period). The result is a consistently stimulating set that rewards repeated listenings. ~ Scott Yanow This release is something of a departure for the bold trumpet stylist. After the Latin-tinged dance-floor jams of THE SIDEWINDER (released about six months prior to this disc), Morgan turns somewhat reflective. The music is quieter, with a good deal of structural space and restrained, almost expressionistic playing. The title track opens the album and evokes a mood of poignancy and careful balance, like a Japanese painting. Even the more up-tempo numbers like "The Joker" and "Mr. Kenyatta" are relaxed and thoughtful, the richly textured passages unfolding in a way that seems both organic and tightly disciplined. Morgan's playing maintains its articulate brightness, but his notes and phrases are carefully shaded. This is matched by Wayne Shorter's sax work (also simultaneously edgy and lyrical), Grant Green's glowing guitar and Herbie Hancock's atmospheric contributions. Lee should also be recognized as a significant composer, since all the tracks here, with their floating themes and protean solo sections, are from his pen. SEARCH FOR THE NEW LAND live up to its title, finding a high ground of intelligent, evocative work and outstanding playing.

Q (2/04, p.115) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[T]he expansive title cut and melodically fertile 'The Joker' both boast striking central themes and warm ensemble playing from Morgan and star accomplices."

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