Search for the New Land [Original recording remastered]

Lee Morgan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 2, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B0000BV210
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,964 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Search for the New Land

2. The Joker

3. Mr. Kenyatta

4. Melancholee

5. Morgan the Pirate

Editorial Reviews

No description available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Rating:
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: Compact Disk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Search" for What Could Have Been, September 14, 2003

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Search for the New Land (Audio CD)

Lee Morgan's "Search for the New Land" is the trumpeter's most searching and enjoyable Blue Note album in my opinion. This session was recorded on February 15, 1964, nearly two months after the date that yielded "The Sidewinder." In many ways, "Search" is a departure from the funky, tight grooves of its predecessor. Sure tracks like "Morgan the Pirate" and "The Joker" are a continuation of the up-tempo feel of "The Sidewinder" and easily blend with that album's style. But the other tracks -- "Mr. Kenyatta," "Melancholee" and of course the title track -- are as progressive and exploratory as any jazz that was made in the watershed year of 1964. Across the board at Blue Note, artists were challenging each other to make more innovative jazz and many of the performers began expanding their bands to accommodate this broadening of the music. On "Search" Lee returns to a sextet line-up for the first time since the late 1950s, but with the addition of Grant Green on guitar, there's no mistaking it for those 50s hard bop sessions. In addition to Green, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins all make invaluable contributions, but the guitarist adds an other-worldly spatial quality to the music, particularly on the title track. Of course, in a few months "The Sidewinder" would be released and its title track would become an international hit. Beginning with "The Rumproller" (see my review), every Lee Morgan album would have the seemingly obligatory funky, boogaloo-style lead-off track in the hopes of a follow-up hit. And while those discs are all very enjoyable, Lee would never again "search" quite like he did on "Search for the New Land."

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Add this masterpiece to your collection !, October 6, 2003

By 

"juleman" (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Search for the New Land (Audio CD)

This album is fantastic on several levels, musically groundbreaking, yet firmly in the tradition it will please more avant garde listeners and mainstream fans alike. It`s not as sunny as The Sidewinder (Morgan`s other masterpiece), it`s a different shade of Morgan, shining as a composer of great talent. Special mentions go to the leader`s trumpet playing, as well as Herbie Hancock and the great Billy Higgins. The title track is a tour de force of great finesse, Mr. Kenyatta is a standout track, but the rest of the album is just as enjoyable.

Highly recommended.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars more straightforward than its reputation, December 9, 2006

By 

Anthony Cooper (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Search for the New Land (Audio CD)

Lee Morgan had a hit with "The Sidewinder", and then tried to recreate the success of that song with a bunch of funky tunes. Before "The Sidewinder" came out, Lee recorded "Search For A New Land". This CD thus has the reputation of being untainted by his soon-to-come commercial success. The title track is the most notable song. It's long, and has a more progressive song structure than the typical theme-solo-theme structure. It's a good song, and you can hear Lee stretching his legs in a salutory fashion. Lee chose a great group of sidemen: Wayne Shorter, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman, and Billy Higgins. The rest of the album is more like tracks 2-5 from "The Sidewinder" -- standard Lee Morgan. Of course, that's hardly a criticism, the remainder of the CD is very good. Very good!