Pacific Standard

One of the great bebop altoists, Lanny Morgan can always be relied upon to enthusiastically dig into standards, preserving the melodies and chord changes but coming up with consistently fresh variations. On this Contemporary set, Morgan is joined by three of L.A.'s finest (pianist Tom Ranier, bassist Dave Carpenter and drummer Joe LaBarbera), who give him stimulating and swinging support. Lanny mostly sticks to well-known standards, but somehow they sound new. "Stella by Starlight" is taken much faster than normal, "In the Still of the Night" cooks, "Body and Soul" is his ballad feature, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" is turned into a fast samba, and a blazing "It's You or No One" wraps up the ten-song session. There is not a throwaway track or routine moment in the 67 minutes of music, which is easily recommended to straight-ahead jazz fans.