Search - Lee Morgan :: Candy

"Candy" Is Oh So Sweet

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Candy" is the last of Lee Morgan's six 1950s sessions for Blue Note. With the sweet lineup of Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums, this is Lee's only quartet recording as a leader. "Candy" is a classic swinging, hard bop affair recorded on November 18, 1957. It features an all-standard repertoire, with the exception of Jimmy Heath's "C.T.A," which come to think of it, is probably a standard too nowadays. Morgan didn't record again as a leader until the 1960 album Leeway but in 1958 he did appear on classics like Jimmy Smith's The Sermon! and Hank Mobley's Peckin' Time among others before joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in October of that year. (If you're interested I have reviewed all three of the CDs I just mentioned.) In all, "Candy" is a delicious look at a young trumpeter who would become one of the defining voices of 60s jazz."

Nothing Artificial in this Sweet Music

Roger Berlind | NY, USA | 01/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with Michael Richman that this is an outstanding session from Morgan and friends. Morgan's solos are fresh and inventive. One advantage of the quartet format is that the rhythm section gets more focus than they would in a quintet or sextet with extra horns. So, this album is a refreshing change from the other (equally outstanding) Morgan albums of the 50s and 60s which always featured a tenor sax, but sometimes added an alto sax, trombone, or guitar.



Lee shows himself to be quite versatile. On "Candy" and "C.T.A", he swings with rhythmic vitality. On the ballads, he plays with genuine feeling and a delicate touch. Doug Watkins, Art Taylor, and especially Sonny Clark all provide strong support to this outstanding and apparently underappreciated album."