City Lights [RVG]

Performer: Lee Morgan
Producer: Alfred Lion
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Lee Morgan; Curtis Fuller, George Coleman, Paul Chambers, Ray Bryant, Art Taylor. Lee Morgan was only a tender 19 years of age when he led this 1957 Blue Note date, but his technique surpassed most of the more seasoned trumpeters on the scene. Technically agile and possessed of a bright, clear tone (he clearly belongs to the lineage of Dizzy Gillespie), Morgan shines on CITY LIGHTS, and his sidemen--including saxophonist George Coleman, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and bassist Paul Chambers--are no slouches either. Strong writing from jazz composer Benny Golson makes this a thoroughly enjoyable hard bop session. Lee Morgan was only a tender 19 years of age when he led this 1957 Blue Note date, but his technique surpassed most of the more seasoned trumpeters on the scene. Technically agile and possessed of a bright, clear tone (he clearly belongs to the lineage of Dizzy Gillespie), Morgan shines on CITY LIGHTS, and his sidemen--including saxophonist George Coleman, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and bassist Paul Chambers--are no slouches, either. Strong writing from jazz composer Benny Golson makes this a thoroughly enjoyable hard-bop session. The 2006 reissue boasts beautifully remastered sound.

Along with Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan was one of the leading trumpeter/composers of the 1960s hard-bop era. His composition "The Sidewinder" is perhaps THE signature piece of the genre, and is practically the textbook definition of the "boogaloo" groove that became popular in the mid-'60s. Influenced by Clifford Brown, Morgan possessed fleet fingers and a robust tone, and his enormously influential approach utilized blues-based harmony, simple melodic motives, and funky, groove-oriented rhythms. The jazz world was robbed of an innovator when Morgan was shot dead by a jealous girlfriend in 1972.

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