Album: Search For The New Land Year: 1964 Label: Blue Note Grant Green - guitar Herbie Hancock - piano Billy Higgins - drums Lee Morgan - trumpet Wayne Shorter - tenor sax Reggie Workman - bass
Jeremy McGuire I had no idea how Lee Morgan was until I saw the documentary, "I called him Morgan." It's like trying a new flavor in my ears. I'm glad you saw it and enjoyed it as much as I did too.
brandon poindexter, I had already known Lee's story but I was shocked with the documentary anyway. whatta beautiful soul and talent, whatta fate! to blow one's mind!
I just saw his documentary as well. I totally agree about this musical piece being the backdrop for the film. It’s eery and deep, and it affected me greatly. I was so moved. So sad that his life was cut short at such a young age.
can you believe it, Cal V Thomas, a while ago when I received the notification about your reply, I was with a friend on fb commenting exactly on Morgan's talent and death??? omg, I got goosebumps now! I'm reading his bio by Jeffrey S. McMillan, "DelightfuLee" and I get miserable reading it, I mean, Lee could have done so much more, he was so absurdly talented and full of life, oh gosh! I suffer with all that story, I do suffer. he was adorable. what a loss for us all! I suffer for Lee, for Wes, for Clifford, Bill, Chet, Bird, LaFaro, Desmond... all those cats oh Lord, I suffer. they were supposed to live much more than any mere mortal.
haunted haunted haunted by this opening number of documentary :I called him Morgan...watched 5 times in one week..will again...he resurrected jazz from death in the sixties...and made it new and relevant again...lives on....and on...
Well, jazz was not dead in the 1960s! It was going through an evolution, granted. But dead, no way! Duke Ellington and Count Basie were still alive. John Coltrane created a tidal shift in the art form, while Charles Mingus was creating music and dealing with some serious housing issues. Less McCann and Eddie Harris were stirring up crowds at home and abroad. Miles Davis was leading one of his great ensembles, one that included both Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. I do remember Lee Morgan being concerned about the fact that jazz was not receiving the public acclaim it deserved. I recall reading something about him and a few other musicians (the still-living tenor saxophonist Billy Harper could have been one of them) crashing the studio of WNET, the public broadcasting station in New York City, and demanding airtime. It was like the early ACT-UP people with the AIDS movement demanding airtime, but 10 or so years earlier. I also remember Dr. Billy Taylor creating Jazzmobile in the 1960s to bring jazz to public school children in New York City. I was in the third grade when he performed with Frank Wess and other musicians. Some of us would grow to enjoy hard bop, modal jazz, avant garde jazz, Latin jazz, and the big band era.
Man I was in high school went he was killed. My teacher would always have KBCA 105.1 on the FM dial in Los Angeles playing low in class. When I heard what had happen I just got up and walk out he just let me go with out a word. I know that I was outside the Light House in 1970 when he played so I was there with some of you on the Pier. Lee Morgan will always live on because I will never forget his music.
Tyrone, you really got to hear music well outside of The Lighthouse - I came there a little later on, but as long as you were cool they'd let you listen outside if you weren't old enough to get it.
I got a copy of 'The Gigolo' when I was 17, not long after he was killed. It completely changed my approach to the trumpet, which I have followed to this day. His lyricism, and his writing were incredible, and every time I pick up my horn I do what I can to channel Lee Morgan.
Bought this album last week and, though, it has only 5 songs on it, it literally took me the whole week to finish. And that's only b/c I kept going back again to this song, to Mr. Kenyatta and Melancholee - I didn't even listen to Melancholee until the 4th day. I loved every song. Morgan wrote all the compositions for this album and (I checked online) he was 26 years old at the time. This album is compelling material - it's my first Lee album and I immediately ranked it with Joe Henderson's Page One (another favorite of mine) and they sit together on my shelf. I bought 3 other albums by Lee. He was brilliant and I hate seeing people say things like "it's sad he passed away so young". That's bullshit! It's remarkable he accomplished so much, at such a young age, stood and shared a stage with Jazz Legends and stood as their equal. Fuck the pity and sadness. It's a life to be celebrated! He did more than most men do in an entire lifetime.
Lee Morgan didn't sit on the stage with kazz legends, he was a jazz legend! A virtuosic musician. One of the best, if not the best, jazz trumpeters of all time.
I mean the line up on this album, at the top of their game and all of them were really young, in their 20s, Herbie, Wayne Shorter, Grant Green (and I'm not a guitar fan, lol) are in rare form. Billy Higgins on the drums. All masters.
Want to get away? Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage Lee Morgan - Search For The New Land Bobby Hutcherson - Verse (especially Joe Henderson's brief, soaring solo)
This composition must be unique - or almost - in jazz history. Stating the theme rubato, playing it once in triple meter, and repeating it rubato after each solo is a very unusual procedure. The solos and the groove are wonderful, but it is the structure of the whole performance that sets this tune apart.
@@edwardsmith8814 Rubato Is A Musical Term Meaning Not In Any Particular Set Tempo Or Rhythm Like For Example In The Introduction To "Behind The Rain" By Herb Alpert And Tijuana Brass.
I was fortunate to be born & raised in Detroit & came of age celebrating the Motown sound & everything it symbolized. While in high school, 1968-1971, I came across a forward-thinking FM radio station out of Windsor, Canada (CJON?). Beginning at midnight, they played only pure jazz & blues (e.g., essential recordings by Lee Morgan). Discovering this music back then made an immediate & profound impact on me. It has shaped my worldview & my “search for the new land” ever since. The journey continues….
I put this album, with its lineup of MASTERS, in my top 10 Jazz albums of all time. Lee Morgan distinguished himself from great players like Hubbard by compositions like Search For The New Land. This was the clean Lee Morgan, recovered from his drug addiction(s). This is one magnificent album, start through finish!
Blue Note doesn't get any better than this shining example of the dynamic 1960's in Jazz. It all changed in 1969 with Miles Davis. 1964 is a vintage year for the Jazz world!
Yes, and while my peers of that time were crazy for the Beatles, I was heavy into jazz. I never missed an issue of Downbeat magazine. Loved to do the blindfold test!
You've got me there! A little before my time for Jazz, which I only discovered in 1971-72. I missed so much, but did get to know and spend time with Hank Mobley before he passed. Sweet man who died too soon.
Curt Rayvis, Better late than never! :-) How cool that you knew Hank Mobley! He was another jazz great. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-70's to early 80's, so I had the pleasure of catching quite a few jazz masters including Art Blakey, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Smith and others. There was a club in San Francisco's North Beach, Keystone Korner where all the artists would headline for at least 3 or 4 nights. It was such an exciting time. Was very sad when Keystone closed and the 24 hour jazz station KJAZ changed ownership and its format. Great memories though.
Hard to believe I once had this in vinyl and my mom wanted me to throw it away! Thankfully one of my brothers kept it and a bunch of other Atlantic, Blue Note, Impulse, Milestone, and Prestige records! A collection that hopefully one day will end up at LIncoln Center, the Schomberg Center, or some part of the Smithsonian.
Just think. The musicians on this date moved in and out of each other's sessions. Add guys like Jackie McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson and many others. An amazing collection of musicians at Blue Note.
I like this tune very much. For me it is very reminiscent of Coltrane's Alabama, recorded a year earlier. I was honestly surprised no one else mentioned that in the comments.
There was undoubtedly a political and social undercurrent to many compositions by jazz musicians during the 1960s. "Alabama" was Coltrane's statement on the September 15, 1963 terrorist attack on the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a reminder that out of despair can come hope and change. "Search for the New Land" may be in its own way be a call for hope and change as well. There were many African nations that were securing political independence during this time. Somewhat similarly there was the social upheaval in this country that led many to search for a new way of thinking and living. "Mr. Kenyatta" is not so subtle. It's a direct reference to the Kenyan leader of that time, as was Morgan's "Angela" a reference to Angela Davis. "In What Direction Are You Headed?" is also a politically-laced title.
I totally agree...the chord progression is very similar. But Alabama was the current commentary....Search For New Land was the solution.....the mood, the title....the complete composition points solely towards forward movement. -- Even the solos of each of those giants imply the part we all must play -- if were to get out of "Alabama" so to speak!
I feel like that every black man women and child around the globe sailing back to Africa being welcome back home listen to the end of the song as we embrace to watch the sun rise.everytime i close my eyes hearing the greatness of this masterpiece.
This song is so genius the way it holds and keeps you warm like a blanket at the same time gives your spirit wings allowing it to fly. Well atleast that's how it makes me feel.
In 1972 Doug Carn's band featuring his wife Jean Carn were the first artists to play live at Slugs since Lee Morgan's tragic killing...they played a vocal version of 'Search for the New Land' when suddenly the lights dimmed and all present felt touched by the benevolent spirit of Edward Lee. The entire band saw this as a vindication of their performance by the late great Trumpet maestro. Doug said he was energised through this experience for the remainder of his career True story !
It's so interesting to hear Grant Green on here, he seems to add a crystal chillness to the whole thing. I love when his solo comes in, it kind of slows it all down. Also Reggie Workman is slaying.
Awesome work by Lee Morgan, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter! Reggie Workman and Smiling Billy Higgins underneath like a heartbeat and pulse! I love Herbie Hancock's solo on this; it always makes me think beautiful thoughts.
Great L.P from a great period in Jazz history.Well I am going to be a little biased and say every period in Jazz history is very special in its own right.Have a blessed and wonderful life to all
The Blue Note era from the mid to late 1950s through the mid to late 1960s was special. An effort should be made to put the recordings in the Smithsonian because they are part of the American national treasure. The Van Gelder studio should be made part of the Smithsonian also. It is the source of these recordings that are the essence of modern American history.
I bow to this master. I have been following jazz for a while and know all the masters - Coltrane, Miles et al. Heard of Lee Morgan, but also got to know more about him from the netflix "I called him Morgan". America, why don't you appreciate these your greats? Shame.
so original, when I first heard search for the new land it sounded in my mind just like this',what a great tine, not like most jazz tune this on is very special,I also really like this combination very much. one of the best from lee morgan!!
For U Jazz's Affectionato check out Stanley Turrentine's Mr. Natural hear how Lee & Stanley go at each other along with McCoy Tyner a Collecter's item. SOLID!!!!
He was the greatest trumpet play this world has ever seen (sorry Miles!) as John Coltraine was the greatest sax player period!!!! Old Lee Morgan you are so missed!!!! I did see I called Him Morgan and cried. It was good but he was so young to have died and to loss his life like that! I am glad for the time he was here.
This is such beauty and grace. Lee Morgan's honesty and truth are prevalent in this composition. The beginning feels like a maze and then there are steady parts that feel like a triumphant trumpet; then, there are 'lows' in the song that feel like 'overwhelming phases of melancholy,' those transitions feel like a 'troubled trumpet;' Lee Morgan wanted sobriety and peace; and was happiest when he was playing and composing. Yet, to be that brilliant; and to be so young....whew whee....and to feel so 'unloved...' Wow! How he tells the story of brilliance in the midst of contradiction and adversity. His habits, likely, formed from boredom; and frustration that so many people were so lacking and shallow. There is not too much known about his family; and his energy on a certain level reminds of DMX; Malik B......Hip Hop and Jazz are clearly the rawest and 'realest' musical genres and to me....the finest genres on the planet. Yet, there would be no other genres to pull from had it not been for Blues; and the spirituals.... I watch the film repeatedly; and discover something new about humanity every time. Lee Morgan was so talented....Incrediby talented; And...so was Helen....so brilliant and so bright!
Always liked the way Jazz musicians were photographed. After seeing so many album covers and sleeves during the 70's, I made it my mission in life to be photographed at times in similar veins. Up to and including my military ID cards. Those guys are probably still wondering to this day "what in the world is he trying to do?"
When you watch the documentary I Called him Morgan for the second time or more this track is the immediate opening and it takes you right to the last session or the part about the night at Slugs for a moment. Undoubtedly would have been the GOAT My personal favorite trumpet player
Could you imagine if Rock n Roll had as much fluidity in band line ups for its records. Grant Green - guitar, Herbie Hancock - piano, Billy Higgins - drums, Lee Morgan - trumpet, Wayne Shorter - tenor sax Reggie Workman - bass. Every Lee M record is a collection of masters pushing the music forward to New Lands.
Miles was the more important musical figure because he was at the vanguard of so many movements, but, as a trumpet player, both Lee and, certainly Clifford surpassed him
Lee and Wayne - can it get better?! Shorter brought tears to my eyes with Weather Report; sadly, I wasn't born when this was recorded...but with Herbie on piano, the deal is sealed...this is how grown men play music.
people keep going back and listening to all the great jazz of the past it will keep your mind busy for years and i mean back to 1930's ,treat your mind.
the first time I heard this tune I was with my band mate and he was showing me this tune. we were both tripping on LSD just sitting/laying analysing this song and taking it all in. the moment I was having while listening to this was so profound I could even say that it was a spiritual experience. Thank you Lee Morgan and all the amazing Jazz performers in this tune for such a beautiful composition
esquibelle oh trust me I didn't need it to enjoy this piece whatsoever. I'm just,saying that when i first heard it I happened to be under that influence hahaha
Lee Morgan's music found my soul by accident. I turned on a show call SOUL on ch.13 in NYC and Lee Morgan played "Angela" on flugelhorn that night. Blew my head wide open. He is ( I don't say was) the pinnacle pf jazz trumpet. I rate no one higher and I'm crazy about Miles. He speaks to us today through our ears and from our souls we connect with his soul and will do so forever though his music just like all the Dieties of Jazz!!!
I came to this site chasing down Charles Mingus', Porkpie Hat. I'm glad I did. My grandfather played jazz. If you check out the Mingus song, don't stop there, go and check out the Jeff Beck version, Goodbye Porkpie Hat. You will find that on the album , Wired which is a jazz master piece in and of itself.
Thank you Lee Morgan for all the great music you left behind. You are my favorite trumpeter player. No one can top you! Gone 47 years now. It is still hard to believe. I hope you are happy where you are.
