BST 84426

Lee Morgan - The Rajah

Released - 1985

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 29, 1966
Lee Morgan, trumpet; Hank Mobley, tenor sax; Cedar Walton, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Billy Higgins, drums.

1797 tk.3 Davisamba
1798 tk.15 Once In My Lifetime
1799 tk.21 The Rajah
1800 tk.36 Is That So
1801 tk.42 A Pilgrim's Funny Farm
1802 tk.44 What Now, My Love

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
A Pilgrim's Funny Farm	Cal Massey	November 29 1966
The Rajah	Lee Morgan	November 29 1966
Side Two
Is That So?	Duke Pearson	November 29 1966
Davisamba	Walter Davis	November 29 1966
What Now, My Love?	Bécaud	November 29 1966
Once in a Lifetime	Bricusse, Newley	November 29 1966

Liner Notes

It has been 12 years since Lee Morgan was shot dead by his woman at Slugs', the lower east side night club where he was leading his combo. If anything he is missed more than ever. It is not that there aren't some tyros on the scene in the mid-'80s who are enriching the jazz trumpet department afresh, the way he did in the late '50s and throughout the '60s, but when you remember where Lee Morgan was, artistically, when he was killed and what he might be playing today, you can mourn his untimely death anew.

These thoughts are prompted by the issue of Raiah, a heretofore unreleased session of six numbers discovered in the Blue Note vaults by Michael Cuscuna. Recorded in November 1966 at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder, it is valuable not only for Morgan but for the playing of Hank Mobley, little heard from these days, and the writing of Cal Massey, Duke Pearson and Walter Davis. Then, too, there is the marvelous soloing of pianist Cedar Walton and his interaction in the rhythm section with the hand-in-glove team of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Billy Higgins.

According to the notes I wrote for Lee's album Cornbread, Mobley and Higgins were with him at Slugs' in June of 1966, five months prior to this recording date. Whether or not Chambers and Walton were part of the band for that gig matters not. This is as cohesive a quintet as if it were working together constantly.

The opening number is Cal Massey's A Pilgrim's Funny Farm, a title whose meaning remains a mystery at the moment. Morgan's expressive horn voice introduces the theme over a vamp figure which is relieved in the middle by an eight-bar bridge of forward movement. The improvised solo segments are straight-ahead, too, with Lee quoting from And The Angels Sing and singing it out, loud and clear, with overall dexterity and expert rhythmic manipulation of his phrases. He is a storyteller who knows how to hold one's attention.

Then comes Mobley with his distinctive sound — mellow but with the tensile strength of steel wire — and the concomitant contrast in his style of angularity and hydroelectric flow.

Walton combines lyricism with the same kind of rhythmic awareness in phrasing that the other soloists display; and his articulation is impeccable, particularly in the piquant, bell-like, upper register playing. Higgins makes apt comments with his sticks as he and Chambers lay down a sonic path.

Morgan announces himself as he re-enters for another solo helping before restating the theme. Walton eases on down the board fade as the Funny Farm disappears from view.

Next up is The Rajah by Morgan, some eastern funk in the manner of the state of Silverstan where the Horaiah rules. Mobley levitates above the swaying-elephant beat—one foot in the howdah, so to speak; Morgan, as the head mahout, prods, punches and trills out his earthy lyricism; and Walton shows he has bathed in the holy, blues waters. Then Lee and Hank trade choruses that will heat up the inside of your turban and send it spinning around on your head.

Is That So? by Duke Pearson finds Morgan stating the lovely, questioning theme with Mobley answering and intermixing thoughts with the trumpeter. Walton has the bridge and the first solo, followed by the thoughtful Mobley, his content wedded perfectly to that bittersweet sound. Morgan is third, demonstrating his Brownie inheritance of fat notes, and his own logical thought processes. Chambers finishes up the soloing with a finely plucked effort before Morgan and Mobley interact once again on the theme.

Walter Davis' airy dancing Davisamba is transported by the two horns and then Morgan brings his smears, grace notes and rapid bursts into play. Mobley is a lithe, muscular dancer; and Walton, who opens his solo with a single-line, right-hand attack, finishes more in the vernacular of the piece to lead back into the theme.

The ballad of the date is Gilbert Becaud's What Now My Love? the melody is carried by Morgan, backed by Walton and some Higgins cymbal effects, out-of-tempo. Then Hank and Paul join in, swinging slowly but definitely. Cedar has the first solo with a How Are Things in Gloccamorra? quote; and Lee comes back with a clarion call on a bridge.

Once In A Lifetime, the Leslie Bricusse-Anthony Newly show song, is done up in a Messengers mode. Lee and Hank were teammates in Art Blakey's band in 1959 and Cedar was in a later, early '60s edition of that institution. Lifetime lends itself well to this treatment. The melody and harmonies are handled with enlightened enhancement and the soloists use their source material to great personal advantage.

Writing about what happened almost 20 years ago in jazz, often leads to commentary on the attrition in the ranks of the people who created the music. Among the writers, Cal Massey and Duke Pearson are on longer with us; Cal having died in 1972 and Duke in 1980. Walter Davis, happy to report, is playing and writing with vigor in the mid-'80s.

Of the musicians, only Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins are really active, both in the United States and abroad. Paul Chambers died in 1969; and Hank Mobley, who has been living in Philadelphia from the mid-'70s, has, due to illness, not been playing much. It is hoped he will overcome his health problems and once again contribute his very valuable playing and writing to the scene.

As I said earlier, today's scene has a wealth of young trumpet talent (and many great veterans as well) but it's a shame that there's no Lee Morgan. "Rajah" is another strong reminder.

—Ira Gitier