Thoughts on Lee Morgan's "The Rajah"

[hutch head]

Is Lee Morgan's "The Rajah" a good session? I saw this for sale online, and I've never heard it before. My favorite Lee Morgan dates as a leader are "Infinity" and "Charisma."

[Eric]

Others will disagree, but this is definitely my least favorite Morgan. Looks fine on paper, but I find it to be plodding and frankly boring.

Eric

[Rooster_Ties]

I wouldn't downgrade it as much as Eric. (Frankly, I think Leeway is my least favorite Lee Morgan date - for what it's worth.)

Or another way to put it - it's a more solid date (in terms of every track being relatively good) than Hank Mobley's "Reach Out" (which suffers from two very lack-luster pop covers).

Yeah, "The Rajah" may not be the best Lee Morgan ever, but if you find it used for $9 or $10 -- I'd definitely snap it up. (Or even $12, if you feel like it.) I paid about $12 for mine (on eBay, with shipping), and I wasn't disappointed with it.

[JSngry]

Good tunes, I'll give it that.

[Jazzmoose]

I won't say that The Rajah is my favorite Lee, and in fact when I bought it, it was more of a "it's OOP and I must have it!" thing. But I still think it's a good disc. Not one of his best, but in my opinion, Lee didn't have any real stinkers...

[Daniel A]

Yes, good tunes, I agree. In fact, several excellent themes which are seldom covered, such as Duke Pearson's 'Yes or No'. But Morgan is 50 percent patented licks and Mobley sounds tired and out of tune. Walton is the star of the session, IMO.

[jazzbo]

Looking at your favorites, I think you'd like it. I do. There's Massey here, always an ingredient that is nice to see on a Morgan date. Some say "plodding"---I say there is a mellowness to this date that I like in Morgan dates.

[king ubu]

I like it quite well. Interesting line up, good tunes (another Massey fan here).

ubu

[couw]

I for one LOVE the first track (A Pilgrim's Funny Farm) and don't hear that much wrong with anyone on that particular track. Sure it's not the bestestest Lee, but damn it's still him and he does some awesome laid back stuff on the very first and very last lines of the tune-- but as others have stated, it may not be your particular bag.

[John Tapscott]

Overall, I like this album and would recommend it to Lee fans. Some really good tunes as Jim said, and as Daniel said, Walton is the star (Higgins on right on the money, too). I think Mobley's pretty good here, and Lee too, though he's a bt tentative in places, especially on A Pilgrim's Funny Farm. I always cringe at his quote from "And the Angels Sing". It just seems out of place and out of mood, somehow.

[DrJ]

I think it's undervalued by many, largely because for some reason people always want to hear Lee in his fire and brimstone mode (well, OK, I can understand why). But the "mellowness" Lon mentions is a good way to put it - it's Lee in a less frenetic, more contemplative mode. I don't think it's nearly as bad as some others seem to, quite good actually.

[Rooster_Ties]

I said it before up top, but I also think this is a pretty decent date. No better (but no worse) than probably the 'lesser' 30% of his recorded output in the entire 60's.

If I didn't already have it, and it had just come out as a Conn, I'd snap it up for sure (even at 'Conn' prices).

[pryan]

I traded this or sold it, can't remember which, due to the poor sound quality and general lack of energy/inspiration. Good tunes yes, but the solos leave much to be desired considering the musicians taking part, especially the front line. Get CORNBREAD, CHARISMA, even STANDARDS before grabbing this one (to compare albums from a similar time under Morgan's leadership).

Rooster, if I may ask, why is LEEWAY your least favorite?

[Rooster_Ties]

Rooster, if I may ask, why is LEEWAY your least favorite?

It just never spoken to me. The recent RVG was the first time I ever heard it (I missed the Conn, at least I think it was a Conn before being an RVG) - and it really seemed meandering to me. Maybe my expectations were too high going into it.

I haven't listened to it more than the half-dozen spins I gave it in the first month or two after I got it. I should probably dig it out again, and see if my reaction is the same.

Edited November 13, 2003 by Rooster_Ties

[JSngry]

I guess one person's "mellow" is sometimes another's "uninspired". I lean towards the latter. To me, TARU is both "mellow" and "inspired". Just seems like Lee didn't really come to play for this one, was having a bad chops day, might have been feeling rough from the night before, whatever. Stuff happens. For sure, it comes from Lee's "evolutionary" period, when he was conciously paring down, but it just doesn't seem to me that there's any real inspiration happening anywhere, which is a pity, because there's some great tunes here.

If I was to give a recommendation, it would be don't pay too much for it, and don't expect a "classic". It's a document, and has value as such, but more than that...

[pryan]

I suggest you dig it out again. The McLean blues is a gas, with all soloists contributing great statements. In fact all tunes on this session allow the participants an opportunity to stretch out. In some cases (ie. other hardbop sessions of the era) this "space", for lack of a better term, creates a sense of monotony and solos drag on too long. LEEWAY, IMHO, does not suffer from meandering, as you put it. With PC and Blakey driving this ensemble, it's hard for the soloists not to deliver inspired statements.

Edited November 13, 2003 by pryan

[Jazzmoose]

Get CORNBREAD, CHARISMA, even STANDARDS before grabbing this one (to compare albums from a similar time under Morgan's leadership).

Well, I wouldn't go as far as Standards, but certainly the other two are higher on my list!

[Rooster_Ties]

I really like STANDARDS, actually. AND, it has the added benefit of being something my wife can listen to, without her running scared from the room. STANDARDS has more 'melodic'-driven soloing than almost any other BN date (with horns) that I can think of.

[Eric]

Love the THB, Rooster!

But where is the cat

Eric

[sidewinder]

Count me as a fan of 'The Rajah'. Ever since it's first release back in the days of the old Pathe Marconi DMM LPs. Fave tracks are the very appealing 'Is That So' (a very lyrical Morgan theme statement with typically incisive piano solo from Walton) and the catchy original 'The Rajah'. 'Once In a Lifetime' also hits a nice groove in the opening bars (and avoiding any comparisons with the naff Anthony Newley vocal version of the tune) but I'm less happy with what they do with the later part of the theme. Sounds less than convincing. On the whole though, a thumbs up .. and Cedar Walton is right on the mark from beginning to end.

I was able to pick up the Toshiba CD some time back - and this sounds more than acceptable sound-wise.

Edited November 14, 2003 by sidewinder

[jazzbo]

The Toshiba cd I have. . . is remastered by Mc Master! Sounds okay.

[Chuck Nessa]

Shortly after the lp issue of "The Rajah" and Mobley's "Far Away Lands", I ran into Kenny Washington at the Jazz Record Mart. He asked me about recent records that turned me on. I mentioned the Mobley session and he stopped me. He dissed Donald Byrd on this session and said "all the guys in New York are digging the Lee side". After this I relistened to "The Rajah" and see it as a sequel to "Lee-Way".

Thank you Kenny.

[pryan]

After this I relistened to "The Rajah" and see it as a sequel to "Lee-Way".

Is it (THE RAJAH) a sequel to LEEWAY because of the Cal Massey tunes? I don't totally follow you, Chuck, although admittedly it's been a while since I've listened to THE RAJAH. Could you elaborate a bit on that sequel comment?

[Chuck Nessa]

More than anything, I think it is the "laid back" feeling.

[pryan]

Gotchya.