Brass instruments are a vital part of the festive fabric of Christmas, and Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet The Nutcracker is made even more joyful with the brassy brilliance of Septura. Narrated by preeminent actor Derek Jacobi, The Nutcracker is set on Christmas Eve, with music both rapturous and fantastical. It tells the story of how young Clara’s favorite present, a nutcracker shaped like a little man, turns into a handsome prince at midnight. Septura has been acclaimed by Brass Band World for its ‘stylistic perfection’ and ‘beautifully portrayed artistry.’
2019 release. Like their acclaimed ECM release Small Town of 2017 which The Guardian called "wistful and mesmerizing... tonally ingenious and haunting" Epistrophy by guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan was recorded at New York City's Village Vanguard. The album once again captures the rare empathy these two players achieve together in this intimate environment. There are further poetic takes on pieces from the duo's beloved Americana songbook ("All in Fun," "Red River Valley," "Save the Last Dance for Me"), as well as another intense version of a composition by Paul Motian ("Mumbo Jumbo"), an artist whom both the guitarist and bassist knew well. Frisell and Morgan communicate the essence of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and the Frank Sinatra hit "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," so much so that the famous words seem to hang in the air even without a singer. At the center of the album is a pair of pieces by Thelonious Monk: the funky, angular "Epistrophy" and the ruminative ballad "Pannonica." And as with "Goldfinger" on Small Town, Frisell and Morgan offer a glowing duo interpretation of a melody-rich John Barry title tune from a James Bond film "You Only Live Twice."
A jazz artist to watch (NPR) and "a virtuoso in the truest sense of the word" (JazzTimes), Morgan Guerin spent nearly a year crafting his multi-dimensional Tales Of The Facade, layering instruments and sounds track upon track. And while an impressive amount of the album is performed solely by Guerin, he also enlisted stellar collaborators, including Georgia Anne Muldrow, Melanie Charles, Cisco Swank, Zacchae'us Paul, J Hoard, and Kokayi. Despite Guerin's widespread acclaim as a jazz artist, it would be reductive to call this a "jazz album." "It touches a lot of different periods and styles of music," Guerin explains. "Wayne Shorter and John and Alice Coltrane are big influences, but so are people like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Minnie Riperton, and Kendrick Lamar. I wanted all of those sounds to be represented." What's left in the grooves obliterates concepts of genre even as it celebrates genres themselves. Now signed to Candid, Guerin's music will finally reach an audience as vast and diverse as his musical vision.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Following the runaway success of The Sidewinder in 1964, Alfred Lion continued to record trumpeter Lee Morgan frequently in the hopes of capturing another funky boogaloo hit. While his subsequent albums may not have scaled the same commercial heights, Morgan certainly delivered the musical goods on his 1965 albums The Rumproller, The Gigolo, and Cornbread, all of which stand among the finest outings in his formidable discography. Recorded over two dates that Summer, The Gigolo featured Morgan with a dynamic quintet comprised of Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Harold Mabern on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. A supremely confident set of swaggering hard bop, the album kicks off with the groovy opener "Yes I Can, No You Can't," one of four Morgan originals featured here along with the up-tempo gems "Trapped" and "Speedball," and stirring explorations of the 11-minute "The Gigolo." The album closes with an exceptional arrangement of the ballad "You Go To My Head" which sways with sensual movement.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket. Lee Morgan's Infinity, which was recorded in 1965 but not released until 1981, finds the great trumpeter leading a robust quintet featuring saxophonist Jackie McLean, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Billy Higgins to the far reaches of the hard bop tradition and beyond. Blue Note Tone Poet Series is remastered from the original analog tapes.
The Complete Live at the Lighthouse is an expansive collection that presents for the very first time all 12 sets of music the legendary trumpeter Lee Morgan's quintet with saxophonist Bennie Maupin, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Jymie Merritt, and drummer Mickey Roker recorded during their historic engagement at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California from July 10-12, 1970. This definitive edition produced by Zev Feldman and David Weiss encompasses 33 performances including more than 4 hours of previously unreleased music that let's the listener relive the experience of being in the club for every exhilarating moment. Both sets include a beautiful booklet featuring interviews, essays, and rare photos.
American jazz trumpeter, Edward Lee Morgan- professionally known by his middle name - is still celebrated as one of the key hard-bop players of the early 1960s. Born in Philadelphia on 10th July 1938, his sister gifted him his first trumpet on his 13th birthday, having previously been interested in the vibraphone and then the alto sax. His main early influence was fellow trumpeter Clifford Brown, from whom he took a few lessons as a teenager. Morgan achieved early prominence after playing on John Coltrane's esteemed Blue Train at age 17, and joining Dizzy Gillespie's big band a year later, a group with whom he performed and recorded for 18 months, until Gillespie disbanded his group in 1958. Morgan also played alongside other founding members of the group, notably trombonist Al Grey and saxophonist Billy Mitchell, on the 1957 Specialty album, Dizzy Atmosphere included in full as part of this collection. Following the demise of Gillespie's outfit, Lee joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in late 1958, and while it further developed his talent as a soloist and composer. He toured with Blakey for a number of years, and was featured on numerous albums by the Messengers. Morgan had signed a deal with Blue Note records in 1956 and across the next 15 years, recorded twenty five albums for the label as leader. After being forced out of the Messengers in 1961 following serious drug problems, he returned to Philadelphia, where he continued to make albums, but he moved back to New York in '63. During this era he recorded his and Blue Note's most successful record, The Sidewinder, later that same year. Lee Morgan released a further 11 albums for Blue Note through the latter half of the '60s and early 1970s. Bringing together eight of Lee Morgan's most prestigious and finest albums, this 4 CD collection serves as both a welcome reminder of the great man's best ever work, and as a pivotal starting point for those investigating this Jazz giant for the first time
SEARCH FOR THE NEW LAND (BLUE NOTE CLASSIC SERIES)
BLUE NOTE RECORDS
Vinyl
$31.99Feb 16, 2024
Two months after recording what would become his hit record The Sidewinder, trumpeter Lee Morgan returned to Van Gelder Studio in February 1964 to create his masterful album Search for the New Land. For the session, Morgan assembled a sextet consisting of several young stars of the Blue Note roster including Herbie Hancock on piano, Grant Green on guitar, and Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, along with the dynamic rhythm team of bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Billy Higgins. The album opens with the expansive 16-minute title track, a musical odyssey that alternates a shimmering rubato theme with a loping exploration by each soloist. Four more indelible Morgan originals follow including jaunty numbers such as "The Joker" and "Morgan the Pirate," as well as the plaintive ballad "Melancholee."
Introducing Lee Morgan is a 1956 hard bop record by the heralded jazz trumpeter, originally released on the Savoy label. It also features Hank Mobley, Hank Jones, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor. Recorded when Morgan was just 17, the album features 7 cuts, including the Mobley penned "Hank's Shout." This new edition of the album is released as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series on 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes at Cohearent Audio and a Stoughton Tip-On Jacket.
Vivaldi & Friends - La Folia (Madness & Other Concertos) / Sorrell, Apollo's Fire
Avie Records
CD
$19.99Dec 01, 2010
Cleveland-based baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire has made an indelible impression since launching on Avie last year, making their Billboard Classical Chart debut in the Top 10. Vivaldi & Friends presents concertos by the Red Priest with a twist: two authentic concertos—one for four violins, the other for two cellos—interspersed with J. S. Bach’s transcription of Vivaldi’s A minor concerto for four harpsichords and Jeannette Sorrell’s own transcription of “Summer” from the ever-popular Four Seasons. In this unique version, she performs the original violin parts on the harpsichord. The album ends with an enigmatic Tango Concerto by contemporary composer René Duchiffre, written in the idiom of Bach and Vivaldi for the unusual combination of two violas da gamba. Vivaldi & Friends is released to coincide with the group’s extensive tour with star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Lee Morgan's 1968 album Taru found the trumpeter at a crossroads exploring a variety of styles from modal jazz and post-bop to beautiful balladry and funky boogaloos. The band here is notable for the elevating presence of guitarist George Benson and the addition of tenor saxophonist Bennie Maupin. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.
![The Complete Live At The Lighthouse [Boxed Set]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3979900-2718026.jpg?v=1786807593&width=800)
![The Complete Live At The Lighthouse [Boxed Set]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3979900-2718026.jpg?v=1786807593&width=400)
