Lee Morgan's Sonic Boom

[Chuck Nessa]

Lee's my favorite post bop trumpet player (even over Clifford) but I always saw this date as only ok.

[mikeweil]

..... I was excitited at the thought of Fathead in a hard bop vein. .....

That's what I was - but the result is not as exciting as I thought it would/could be.

[felser]

Lee's my favorite post bop trumpet player (even over Clifford) but I always saw this date as only ok.

Agree with the assessment of the date. Seems to come down to if seeing Fathead on a Lee Morgan Blue Note strikes you as a great idea or a lost opportunity for some other player who was underrecorded in that period (Benny Maupin, Frank Mitchell, John Gilmore, Clifford Jordan, George Coleman, Gary Bartz) to have been on the date. Love Lee's playing, but Freddie Hubbard is the man for me in that era as far as trumpet playing. They were very different in their approaches, and I'm thankful for both. Hubbard always struck me as the one who extended Clifford Brown, and Morgan as the one who extended Dizzy (understandably).

[bertrand]

I find the three compositions on Side One to be particularly strong, however.

Bertrand.

[Noj]

I have this reissue, which contains particularly strong bonus tracks.

1 Sneaky Pete Morgan 5:47

2 The Mercenary Morgan 7:11

3 Sonic Boom Morgan 6:18

4 Fathead Morgan 5:27

5 I'll Never Be the Same Kahn, Malneck, Signorelli 7:16

6 Mumbo Jumbo Morgan 5:28

7 Free Flow Coleman 4:50

8 Stormy Weather Morgan 5:42

9 Mr. Johnson Mabern 6:08

10 The Stroker Priester 5:47

11 Uncle Rough Mabern 5:33

12 Claw-Til-Da Roker 3:06

13 Untitled Boogaloo Morgan 5:38

[Dan Gould]

Bonus tracks are from a different session, the one that was paired with the LP issue of The Procrastinator/I] in the seventies.

[sidewinder]

Particularly fine work from George Coleman on the bonus tracks. 'Free Flow' was a tune he featured extensively on his live quartet gigs in the late 70s. Nice playing from Julian Priester also on this session. One of my favourite TOCJs.