Candy
Recorded when he was only 19, Candy was one of the first albums (along with The Cooker, recorded the same year) where Lee Morgan showed his own unique style.
Artist: Lee Morgan
Genre: Jazz
Label: Rat Pack Records
Release date:
His prodigal technical virtuosity had already been proven at this time in the Dizzy Gilliespie band, but Morgan's first solo ventures had been remarkable only because of his young age. Here, the influence of some of Morgan's mentors can be seen, but instead of just emulating the style of older trumpeters like Clifford Brown, he has begun absorbing bits and pieces of the phrasing and style of a wide range of musicians, from Gillespie to Miles Davis, then using them to forge his own sound.
Morgan places himself front and center here -- there are no other horns to carry the melodic lines, leaving him quite exposed, but he manages to perform beautifully. Not merely a technical marvel, his tone on this album was sweet and his playing fluid, infused with joy and crisply articulated emotion. Morgan would later turn out to be an expert songwriter, but here songs like Buddy Johnson's "Since I Fell for You," and Jimmy Heath's "C.T.A." gave him ample space to show off his talents. Source: All Music
About the artist
"A cornerstone of the Blue Note label roster prior to his tragic demise, Lee Morgan was one of hard bop's greatest trumpeters, and indeed one of the finest players of the '60s. An all-around master of his instrument modeled after Clifford Brown, Morgan boasted an effortless, virtuosic technique and a full, supple, muscular tone that was just as powerful in the high register. His playing was always emotionally charged, regardless of the specific mood: cocky and exuberant on uptempo groovers, blistering on bop-oriented technical showcases, sweet and sensitive on ballads. In his early days as a teen prodigy, Morgan was a busy soloist with a taste for long, graceful lines, and honed his personal style while serving an apprenticeship in both Dizzy Gillespie's big band and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. As his original compositions began to take in elements of blues and R&B, he made greater use of space and developed an infectiously funky rhythmic sense. He also found ways to mimic human vocal inflections by stuttering, slurring his articulations, and employing half-valved sound effects. Morgan led his first Blue Note session in 1956 and he would record his first two classic albums for the label during 1957 and 1958: The Cooker and Candy. He broke through to a wider audience with his classic 1963 album Sidewinder, whose club-friendly title track introduced the soulful, boogaloo jazz sound. Toward the end of his career, Morgan was increasingly moving into modal music and free bop, hinting at the avant-garde but remaining grounded in tradition; a sound showcased on his 1970 concert album Live at the Lighthouse. He had already overcome a severe drug addiction, but sadly, he would not live to continue his musical growth; he was shot to death by his common-law wife in 1972. Source; All Music"
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