And so another year has begun. I'm celebrating 2 years maintaining this version of the site. I've posted many great albums so far and many more are coming. Let's start this year with a real gem, namely "The Cooker" by Lee Morgan. I have an original 1st pressing in amazing condition. It sounds phenomenal. The 1st track of the album is a wonderful rendition of the Dizzy Gillespie classic "A Night In Tunisia". Lee Morgan's trumpet is smokin' on this, not to mention the brisk, lively tones of Pepper Adams' baritone. Now this is a player I haven't yet explored much. He is a superb player, and the blend of Morgan's trumpet and his baritone really works great. There are not many albums with horns that only has a trumpet and a baritone which I can recall, besides from the famous, and beautiful Mulligan-Baker interplay. The combination is really interesting with the two miles apart register-wise, but still complements each other so smoothly. The rest of the album is a joy to listen through. It contains two original compositions by Lee Morgan. The highly enjoyable medium-tempo effort "Heavy Dipper" and the relaxing, slower paced and bluesy "New-Ma". The tune "Just One Of Those Things" by Cole Porter contains fantastic solos by Adams and Morgan played with lightning speed. A nice and crisp version of "Lover Man" is also included to make the package complete. On this album I also have to mention pianist Bobby Timmons who is growing into one of my favorite jazz pianists. A really talented player who died far too young, like so many other jazz greats.
As with all the early Lee Morgan albums, this one doesn't disappoint. It's from the sweet spot of his amazing body of work. It's one of my favorites, and one of the best Morgans released. Of all the albums in my collection, I have to say that the Lee Morgan albums stand out as records of supreme quality. The music is so full of life, joy, lyricism and total technical brilliance. I have a few early Morgan albums that I still need to get my hands on. I don't need all of his work, but there's a handful of albums that I really need to find to make the Lee Morgan part of my collection feel a bit more complete. In that sense I'm far from a completist. I just want what I consider the cream of my favorite artists' work to be fully satisfied.
It's always a pleasure to put an original 1st pressing Blue Note from the golden era on the turntable and be totally amazed at the sound and quality of the record. When it's in pristine shape, it's almost what I would call a religious experience.
The 2017 collecting year has just begun and I'm looking forward to acquiring some beautiful historical pieces this year. I finally got my hands on a real Prestige gem back in December which I maybe will post next. It's an album which has eluded me for quite some time and I'm really happy to have secured it in amazing condition. Stay tuned for that.
