Lee Morgan - LeeWay (1960) (RVG Edition) [24-bit remaster]

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Lee Morgan - LeeWay (1960) (RVG Edition) [24-bit remaster]

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Lee Morgan - LeeWay (1960) (RVG Edition) [24-bit remaster]
EAC rip | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 241Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92Mb
Full artwork @ 300 dpi -> 16Mb (jpg)
Blue Note

LEEWAY presents Morgan in an all-star ensemble featuring the tart, swinging altoist Jackie McLean–a charter member of Blakey's earlier edition of the Jazz Messengers–and everyone's favorite bassist, Paul Chambers. Together with Jazz Messengers Blakey and Timmons, Chambers helps to rhythmically supercharge the soulful shuffles and blues which distinguish this upbeat blowing session. "These Are Soulful Days" is a funky hard bop anthem by Cal Massey, with a supple shift to 3/4 in the bridge. Morgan follows laid-back solos by Chambers, Timmons and McLean with an electrifying concoction of the rhythmic double time, vocal slurs and cascading melodic devices–each and every note sweetly articulated.

On "The Lion And The Wolff," Morgan answers McLean's bluesy recreated figures with riffing phrases of his own, building enormous tension by alternating stunning half-valve effects, taut vamping patterns and swinging syncopations, until drummer Blakey is like to bust. The rhythmic stops and starts of "Midtown Blues" inspire Morgan to a fiercely riffing solo full of long rolling passages and cunning repeated riffs, culminating in a magnificent display of brassy, blustery lyricism–followed by an equally swinging McLean–as Blakey and Timmons allow the hot grease to spill all over this rocking shuffle-beat. And the extended form "Nakatini Suite," with its exotic Afro-Cuban intro, swinging release and elliptical bridge, illuminates Morgan's mastery of complex harmonic materials, as he surfs effortlessly through the changes, punctuating his melodic elisions with soulful cries.