 Lee Morgan People like me, who were not around to pick up the classic Blue Note records when they were first released, or even when they were reissued in the late 70s/early 80s (that would have compromised my interest in Men at Work), are fortunate to be living in the golden age of CD reissues, which allows for a totally revisionist standpoint on what are the best records in the Blue Note catalog. For example, probably my favorite Blue Note of all time is Patterns by Bobby Hutcherson, a session that sat unreleased for over a decade before finally seeing release – in Japan – as part of a series of "lost" Blue Note albums. Similarly, Taru by Lee Morgan is another such session, recorded in 1968 and unreleased until 1980. I don't question the logic behind why some albums got released and others didn't – it really doesn't matter. What is cool is that now we can sit back and assess what the primo stuff is from a purely backward-looking vantage point. To me and people around my age, any given Blue Note record is given the same chance to grab us. It's easy to get a critical assessment from someone "who was there" (i.e. an established jazz critic),but I believe that the younger people are in a position to hear this stuff more clearly, since there's no historical baggage. I mean, I love classics like Song For My Father and Maiden Voyage, but I almost never listen to them. I listen to Taru constantly. This session is in some respects just the sort of greatness you expect from Lee Morgan, one of the finest trumpeters ever, but it's a cut above many of the other albums he made simply because the songs and the performances are so inspired. The band is rounded out by Bennie Maupin on tenor sax, John Hicks on piano, George Benson on guitar, Reggie Workman on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Benson in particular gets a ton of great moments, showing why he mattered in the first place. I can take or leave most of his stuff from like 1970 on, but this is a great session for him. Hicks, also, who is not a pianist I'm very familiar with, just rollicks on this album, and Higgins is a marvel. Lee and Bennie play off each other brilliantly, and overall it's a good reference point for the fact that you don't have to have an all-name band to make hellaciously good music. The sound is very much in the hard bop style that was reaching the end of its road around this time, and if it's a last gasp for hard bop, it's a fucking great one. The cool thing about Taru is that all the tracks are significantly different from each other, but they flow brilliantly from one to another. "Avotcja One" by Hicks kicks things off in a Miles Smiles kind of way, and everyone solos out of control good on this one. An amazing track, moody and intensely hot. "Haeschen" follows, a 180-degree turn from that heat into a cool relaxing pond of creamy yogurt. Um, I meant that in a good way. As intensely pretty as the previous song was challenging – it's a deep and beautiful moment. Lee's tone rules the school on this one – clear as a bell and as pristine as the song itself. That one leads into "Dee Lawd," which is one of the real gems in Morgan's catalog, a soul-jazz gospel rave-up with one of the best melodies he ever composed. It's similar to "Mo' Better Blues" by Terrence Blanchard, but far more toe-tappin'. Pass the collection plate, 'cause if the Lawd makes music this good, he can have all my money. Lee's solo is just ripping, and George Benson tears the thing in half – look out, Grant Green. "Get Yo'self Togetha" is like a lost Jazz Messengers classic, and probably Maupin's best moment on the disc. He's an underrated horn player, but he plays like a titan on this one. "Taru, What's Wrong With You" is another ballad, but even more late-night-feeling than "Haeschen," and quite a bit more melancholy. Some great counterpoint between Lee and Bennie. Almost weepily good. The album closes with another blues vamp, "Durem," the sort of thing that became Lee's specialty after "The Sidewinder" became his calling card. It's a good thing that it ends the album, because had it been track #1, most people would just immediately write off the disc as another (as the liner notes put it) "Son of Sidewinder." Benson again thrills on this in a big way. What a great album, I think I'll listen to it again.
Review by Paul Sausage |