BST 84335

Lee Morgan - The Sixth Sense

Released - July 1970

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 10, 1967
Lee Morgan, trumpet; Jackie McLean, alto sax #1-5; Frank Mitchell, tenor sax #1-5; Cedar Walton, piano; Victor Sproles, bass; Billy Higgins, drums.

1982 tk.7 Anti Climax
1983 tk.11 Psychedelic
1984 tk.17 Short Count
1985 tk.20 The Sixth Sense
1986 tk.22 Afreaka (aka Mission Eternal)
1987 tk.24 The Cry Of My People

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
The Sixth Sense	Lee Morgan	November 10 1967
Short Count	Lee Morgan	November 10 1967
Psychedelic	Lee Morgan	November 10 1967
Side Two
Afreaka	Cedar Walton	November 10 1967
Anti Climax	Lee Morgan	November 10 1967
The Cry of My People	Cal Massey	November 10 1967

Liner Notes

Lee Morgan is beyond a doubt, one of the most trenchant spokesmen in music today. He is a brilliant observer not only of the music scene but of life. Problem is, too few people are aware of this man’s intellectual capacity. He is seen by many only as the extremely gifted trumpet player-composer, whose mercurial rise to international acclaim began at age eighteen in the big band of Dizzy Gillespie.

At this point in time, Lee has to also be respected as a great thinker and conveyor of these thoughts. It’s no put down to say that he is loquacious because he has plenty to say about the music business, about the entertainment and communications media, about politics, politicians and about the black man. He places a very high premium on knowledge because in his knowledge is his strength and his strength Is grounded in his music.

“The black man has always been drug: he’s just been to scared to say anything.” Lee is not afraid to speak his mind and he has plenty to say. I once sat on a panel with Lee that addressed itself to the hangups of the music industry. One of the first things he did was to cut through all of the “polite-niceness” and touch base with the real problems. Lee knows that the man who is oppressed and denied cannot be objective about his plight, therefore his was a frontal attack. He pin-pointed the lie that “jazz” won’t sell. Then he cited the gross disparities in work, income and residuals (product endorsements, commercials, etc.) between black and white musicians who are said to be “making it.” He presented his remarks, not in cold abstract, but in a vitally personal way that left few Idols untouched.

“The more ass you kick the higher the ratings.” Lee knows the name of the game and is totally aware of everything happening around him. He’s not at all paranoid about the rock-revolution as he acknowledges only two types of music, good and bad. As for culture fads, he feels they’re always gonna be with us. His concern is for a more enduring kind of music and that’s the kind he makes. Music of this nature stands on its own. He knows that the destiny of “jazz” rests within the soul of its people and they will determine its true course. It’s very important to note how much it (“jazz”) is subsidizing the whole of “pop,” especially since ¡t enjoys so little popularity on the charts. W. E. B. DuBois had this to say about the music of the black man:

“Little of beauty has America given the world save the rude grandeur God himself stamped on her bosom; the human spirit in this new world has expressed itself in vigor and Ingenuity rather than in beauty. And so by fateful chance the Negro folk song, the rhythmic cry of the slave, stands today not simply as the sole Amen can music, but as the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side of the seas. It has been neglected, It has been and Is half despised and above all it has been persistently mistaken and misunderstood; but notwithstanding, It still remains as the singular spiritual heritage of the nation and the greatest gift of the Negro people.”

Lee Morgan is today a very mature man who knows Where he wants to go and exactly what it takes to get there. In fact, his strong sense of direction might well be the “Sixth Sense.” I suppose he has always had this driving, searching, boundless energy; it’s just that he hasn’t always known how to “use” it. Lee at one time was caught In the jaws of drug addition. Strung out, for three years he didn’t touch his horn. It was during that period that he was said to be dead. Lee tells a now very funny story about Symphony Sid who one night did a tribute to the “late” Lee Morgan. Lee was listening.

His second wife Helen, is giving him the respect, encouragement and support a man needs from his woman. Although her manner is quiet, her love for “Morgan” is anything but. You can sense its presence, you can also hear it ¡n Lee’s playing. “Helen’s Ritual” is but one kind of manifestation of it. If Lee Is getting more out of music now, chances are it’s because he ¡s getting more out of living.

It turns out that all the men on this date, with the exception of Billy Higgins, are ex-”Messengers.” There is a cohesive element to be found in that fact, and it certainly does come through in their playing. The three horn front sounds great and the rhythm section is bristling with energy, but unfortunately there just isn’t enough solo space throughout the album. Lee Morgan has never made an inferior record and this one does its share to support that claim, Lee Morgan is one hell of a cat.

-Ed Williams “Maiden Voyage” WLIB/FM NYC