
Lee Morgan SEARCH FOR THE N(LP)
Personnel: Lee Morgan (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Grant Green (guitar); Reginald Workman (bass); Billy Higgins (drums). Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 15, 1964. Includes liner notes by Nat Hentoff. This release is something of a departure for the bold trumpet stylist. After the Latin-tinged dance-floor jams of THE SIDEWINDER (released about six months prior to this disc), Morgan turns somewhat reflective. The music is quieter, with a good deal of structural space and restrained, almost expressionistic playing. The title track opens the album and evokes a mood of poignancy and careful balance, like a Japanese painting. Even the more up-tempo numbers like "The Joker" and "Mr. Kenyatta" are relaxed and thoughtful, the richly textured passages unfolding in a way that seems both organic and tightly disciplined. Morgan's playing maintains its articulate brightness, but his notes and phrases are carefully sha