Lee Morgan Live at the Lighthouse, ?

[Daniel A]

This is an extract from Belden's part of the liner notes to the 3 CD Lighthouse set:

"Shortly after Lee Morgan's death, a few bootleg LP's were issued that were rumored to be outtakes from the 'Live at the Lighthouse' dates for BLUE NOTE. In 1991, FRESH SOUNDS records from Spain issued two CD's that contained all of the music from the two bootleg LP's and claimed officially that these tracks were recorded at the "Lighthouse" during Lee's stand in July of 1970. Most collector's took this as gospel. In the summer of 1993, I went into the BLUE NOTE vaults to confirm this rumor, and found out that the FRESH SOUNDS CD was not from the unissued material still held in the BLUE NOTE vaults. A phone call to Bennie Maupin unraveled the mystery surrounding these bootleg issues.

Lee's band was on a swing out to the west coast. The group performed at the 'Both/And' in San Fransisco for two weeks prior to opening in Los Angeles at the 'Lighthouse'. During this stand in San Fransisco, a local radio station recorded two sets for broadcast at a later time. It was from this broadcast that these tapes were circulated into the bootleg community."

I thought a way to find out if the Fresh Sound set really was recorded at the Lighthouse was to listen to the piano sound. Out-of-tune pianos never sound exactly the same. Now, it's very difficult to tell, because the sound of the Fresh Sound recording is so different from the Blue Note set, but at just a quick listen I think the pianos sound curiously alike. Perhaps closer examination will reveal something else.

Edited April 3, 2003 by Daniel A