Marcyiiena Morgan

Small Town presents guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan in a program of duets, the poetic chemistry of their playing captured live at New York s hallowed Village Vanguard. Small Town sees Frisell and Morgan pay homage to jazz elder Lee Konitz with his Subconscious Lee, and there are several country/blues-accented Frisell originals, including the hauntingly melodic title track. The duo caps the set with an inimitable treatment of John Barry's famous James Bond theme Goldfinger.

Keyboard player and vocalist John Morgan was a Graham Bond afficianado who turned toward psychedelia as the 1960's wore on. Billed originally as The Spirit of John Morgan, the band was successful enough to get booked into the Marquee and other top clubs, and cut three albums. Their self-titled debut into 1969 was followed by two more LPs in 1970 and 1972 (credited simply to John Morgan) for the Carnaby label. He also cut a single for British RCA in the early 1970's.

Vol. 3 is Lee Morgan's final recording from a series done in the spring of 1957, an important year not only for the teenage trumpeter, but for the dominant hard bop sound that swept the landscape of modern jazz. Morgan preferred the sextet format at this time, recruiting alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce and retaining tenor player Benny Golson, while grabbing bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Wynton Kelly from the Miles Davis/John Coltrane combo. The selection of lesser-known but very talented drummer Charlie Persip for this date is a wise choice, as he is more homogeneous to the composed jazz of Golson, which comprises this entire set. Because of the Golson factor, the music is consistent, but not the hard bop blowing session some may have expected…

Craig Morgan's next album will be a mix of new songs, early hits and deep cuts from his Broken Bow Records catalog. The singer announced that God, Family, Country will be released on May 22, featuring five new songs.

Rekindling the familiarly flowing interplay with fellow travellers Thomas Morgan and João Lobo – the trio’s musical partnership goes back over a decade at this point –, on A New Day Italian pianist Giovanni Guidi moreover expands the group’s instrumental grasp with the introduction of American saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, who makes his ECM debut here. Not only is the ensemble scope widened; with Brandon Lewis in tow, new dialects and fresh perspectives are broached, and different instrumental paths taken, inspired by an overall heightened sense of communication and Lewis’s unmistakable, confident tone. Recorded at Studios La Buissonne, Southern France, in August 2023, the album was produced by Manfred Eicher.

Lee Morgan was the leading trumpeter in hard bop during the 1960s and he recorded quite a few classic albums for Blue Note. This is one of them. The CD reissue (which adds an alternate take of the title cut to the original five-song program) features Morgan at his best, whether playing his memorable blues "Speed Ball," an explorative ballad version of "You Go to My Head," a lengthy "The Gigolo," or his other two originals ("Yes I Can, No You Can't" and "Trapped"). There are no weak selections on this set and the playing by the leader, Wayne Shorter on tenor, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins is beyond any serious criticism.