Soul Stream

Seemed like a Chili Pepper pose as usual. Seriously, they couldn't have had Ornette play with them? No spontaneous magic in high paid rock anymore. Too many publicists and record execs to think about I guess.

You mean you're not into the Dixie Chunks and Vanilla Timberlake?

I've never heard of Dexter Gordon's "Clubhouse." Is that a Blue Note unreleased session or something?

Yeah, but if the dig Ornette so much...why didn't they stop their stupid song and let Ornette solo for 10 minutes instead of just hanging up stupid signs and wearing lakers uniforms. Lame-o.

I've been getting into some Dorothy Ashby as of late. Particulary her Cadet record "Afro-Harping". Anybody else into this stuff?....

Bob Stewart's cool...hell yeah.

Yeah, I love the Silver. Maupin is a big smile for me on that one. He's just right on it. Also Billy Cobham is great on this as well.

Tom, thanks for the great unpublished interview! VERY interesting to hear him talk about those times and music in general.

Soul Station's just one of those times when all the stars aligned and the heavens opened up. If my house were burning and I could save just one Hank album, Soul Station would be it (although I might run back in and grab Workout)

Yep. Nothing like that on record by either one of them. And factor in Red Garland on piano... DAMN YOU SANGREY!

I know for many years, James worked in a record distribution warehouse in Dallas. I knew a guy who worked there with him for years. James said jazz didn't pay the bills and he had children to put through college. I'm glad he did make sort of a comeback after all those years of heavy lifting. What a shame he couldn't have been more active during his career. I'm a huge fan of Tenorman. Would to have loved to seen him live like Jim did. To have seen James Clay and Marchel Ivery together in Dallas on a good night back then....THAT would have been a night!

I don't even pull CDs out anymore except to put them in my itunes. So I just imported the japanese cover into my itunes and.....now I have the 'japanese import' ) That cover is cool.

The us 'standards' has 14 tracks....so, i don't have the jp...

Love Red Stripe. But however, like all imported beers, its tastes SO much better at the source. I traveled to Jamaica a few times in my last job role, and from the time I got back to the hotel right up to bedtime, you couldn't pry those little fat bottles out of my hands. Absolutely delicious. Yeah, I'm a new convert to Stripe. I'm not a big beer conn., usually a pretty low brow domestic is fine for me. But I started playing a gig this year where it was all high end beers, so I got a red stripe 'cause it was (free, so ya gotta have one) red and white like Budweiser . Now I really dig this stuff. But it's GOT to be ICED COLD. Plus, is it just me...or does a whif of this stuff smell like ganja? It IS Jamaican.

Also was domestically released as Sonny Clark "Standards".

a red stripe. that's some funky stuff. dig it.

Sonny Clark....Blues In The Night...chambers is walking, and the brushes sound great. Damn. put it on.

I would have loved to have seen DP at the peak of his powers. He was a one of a kind powerhouse. The idea that he and Billy James did a lot of duo gigs doesn't surprise me. He didn't need anyone else. He had it all.

I really enjoyed this movie quite a lot. Best movie I've seen this year I'd have to say. Very interesting and VERY different. I didn't even mind reading the subtitles, which usually drives me nuts.

Don Patterson....wow. The more you play the B3, the more you understand what a complete and utter genius he was.

I thought this was an interesting contrast. Just to show how opinions do differ on these sessions. Here's quotes from Tom's book and also David H. Rosenthal's book "Hard Bop." Lee Morgan His Life, Music and Culture page 171 "Morgan's rich, quick musical imagination allowed him to get by. But by 1966, that imagination was in competition with a deteriorating physical capability to play, a problem centred on his increasingly unreliable embouchure. This prescious asset of the trumpeter's, apparently damaged already, seems to have been failing under the sheer pressure and volume with which Morgan played. That meant that his statements were bound to follow a certain pattern; with stamina in short supply, (his solo) on 'Carribbean Fire Dance'...begins high and loud but almost immediately collapses, the trumpeter spending the rest of the performance hobbling, lost, with a broken sound." Hard Bop page 118 "On 'Caribbean Fire Dance' the trumpeter manages to make his colleagues-Joe Henderson, Curtis Fuller, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter and Joe Chambers, all pretty "bad cats" themselves-sound like a bunch of sissies beside him. The tune itself is "mean," consisting of a tension-building minor vamp underlined by an obsessively repeated cross-rhythmic piano figure and an explosive release that together create an air of foreboding. Lee's solo opens with a raw, gutteral cry that cuts through all this polymetric layering like a knife. The cry is repeated and then gives way to an urgently tumbling figure, also repeated, that falls behind the beat as it comes to a close. The total effect thus created is one of urgency held under iron control. The rest of Morgan's solo is marked by constant rhythmic displacements in counterpoint to the piano, bass, and drums, by blues-based phraseology, by his sardonic tone, and by key notes almost always bent, slurred, or half-valved: all the elements in one of the most searingly dramatic trumpet styles in all of jazz."

Just thought I'd get Yanow's AllMusic reviews in on this... Review by Scott Yanow CHARISMA This set (reissued on CD in 1997) was one of trumpeter Lee Morgan's lesser-known Blue Note recordings but it is quite rewarding. The notable sextet (which also includes altoist Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley on tenor, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Billy Higgins) performs originals by Morgan, Walton and Duke Pearson, including particularly catchy versions of the funky "Hey Chico" and Pearson's memorable "Sweet Honey Bee" (which should have become a hit). The three horns, all of whom sound quite individual, each have their exciting moments, and the results are quintessential mid-'60s hard bop. CARAMBA Until its 1996 reissue, this was one of the most obscure of all Lee Morgan Blue Note albums. A transitional effort that finds the trumpeter gradually moving beyond hard bop into more modal music, the date starts out with the surprisingly derivative title cut which is very similar to Eddie Harris' "Listen Here." Of the other selections, "Soulita" has the catchiest melody while Cal Massey's slow ballad "A Baby's Smile" was previously unreleased. While Morgan and his fine rhythm section (pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Billy Higgins) are in typically swinging form, Caramba is most notable for featuring the young Bennie Maupin. Sticking exclusively to tenor, Maupin (who would be much more distinctive within a year) mixes together Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter in winning fashion. Although not essential, this CD is a welcome reissue. ...I actually agree in that these are both favorite sessions of mine. Especially Caramba. But I would agree that maybe these aren't Lee's most memorable moments. But very enjoyable for sure!

Then it's one of Duke Peason's best compositons!

I forgot you had said his sister helped him out at that time. I guess I just wondered how bad his teeth were really damaged since, like you, I think his best playing was to come. I mean, he's killing it on "No Room For Squares" and "Evolution" his first recordings after appearing back on the scene. Another thing I enjoyed about your book is that you didn't get bogged down in any drug use issues. Just my opinion that these things really detract from the true story of the music. And the chance for sensationalism is just too much. By the way, what's your favorite Lee Morgan album or sideman date? I've been listening to Taru a lot lately and find this one to be a real sleeping classic. "Haeschen" is one of his best compositions imho.

Tom, thanks for the Wayne story. Not to belabour the point. I just was curious as to whether you feel it's neccessary to interview in person. Were all your interviews for the book in person? Just wondered if you felt you couldn't interview Bennie by phone. Also, in the book you describe Lee getting his teeth knocked out by a hammer behind the Apollo. You go on to say "Whatever led Morgan back to Philadelphia, the trumpeter arrived with little to show for his five years of top-flight playing, not even-it would seem-any teeth..... Apparently the trumpeter's priority was to have constructed a set of false teeth that might allow him to play again. But Morgan was broke.... I don't recall you resolving in the book how he fixed his mouth. Did he get false teeth? One last question if you don't mind. What was the biggest surprise to you about Lee that you found out in doing your research. Thanks, Mike