Customer Reviews

Tom Cat

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lee Morgan and Jackie McLean star on this 6-piece ensemble session. Blue Note assembled a band for this session which looked like a reunion of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, Curtis Fuller, and of course Art Blakey all star on this CD. Only McCoy Tyner on piano somehow missed playing with Art's group. I like the writing on this session. The group's unity suggests rehearsal and mutual interest in achieving great results. Lee hit a groove in the mid-60's, recording several great sessions. Hearing him play with McCoy is a special treat.

Don't make the mistake Blue Note apparently did when it counted this Tom Cat dead before it had even realized one of its lives. As the previous reviewer has suggested, the small recording company apparently held the recording back because the absence of a trendy 8th-note-feel rock beat à la "Sidewinder" made it a financially risky proposition in the 1964 marketplace. Seventeen years later, corporate giant EMI obviously saw differently and released "Tom Cat" from the vaults, its most recent incarnation being this 2006 RVG edition.

Perhaps the difference is Art Blakey, but this is a tight and flowing ensemble with outstanding but unforced solos by all hands--and Van Gelder's remaster represents one of his more judicious mixes, keeping the rhythm section as well as the arrangements in agreeable balance with the solo work. Overall, it's a notch above "The Gigolo" and, at the very least, comparable with "The Sidewinder."

The title tune is a hip version of "Alley Cat Song" or Mancini's Theme from the "Pink Panther," with 2-beat, lower-octave prowling in the piano alternating with straightahead swing on a Bb blues during each of the solos. It's a perfect vehicle for Morgan to indulge himself (but not at our expense) in all of his tricks, mannerisms, and cute devices. He literally IS the Tom Cat personified in music. Wisely, the ensuing soloists don't try to follow his act but provide equally expressive and appropriate solos. "Exotique" is a triple-meter, simpler version of "The Gigolo," with more flowing, less strained solo and ensemble work.

"Twice Around" is a fast version of Bobby Timmons' "Work Song," permiting Morgan to drop the poses of the Tom Cat and play plain bad bop trumpet with the kind of risk and command that remind you why he was heir apparent to Clifford Brown. Tyner's "Twilight Mist" is almost as lovely a ballad as his "You Taught My Heart to Sing," and Morgan does it full justice. "Riggarmortes" features another lively Morgan solo, just slightly less fresh and bracing than the one on "Twice Around."

My expectations of this disc were not especially high--I expected to be worn down somewhat by Bu's cymbals and McCoy's pounding as well as tested by McClean's acid sour tone and Fuller's predictable, "not-close-enough-to-J.J.'s" licks. To the contrary, this one holds up as well as any Morgan-led session between "Candy" (1957) and "Cornbread" (1965). It's essential for any Morgan completist and probably deserves a place in any collector's top five Morgan-led recording dates.

The most recent batch of six RVG reissues (2/21/06) has left me scratching my head, as the original CD incarnations of four of these titles have never even gone out-of-print, and are still readily available, even new on Amazon. Certainly, there are more deserving titles to re-release that have actually been missing from the catalog for years, but I guess EMI must have plans to make most every golden-era Blue Note album an RVG edition at this point. To be fair, Lee Morgan's "Tom Cat" is another enjoyable recording, and it is great to have it available in this remastered version, with a new cover to boot (the same photo used for the Morgan Mosaic Set). Recorded on August 11, 1964, this session was never released until 1980 and the reason was the surprise smash success of "The Sidewinder." This date featuring the incredible lineup of Jackie McLean, Curtis Fuller, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw and Art Blakey (making a rare sideman appearance at this stage of his career) was shelved by Alfred Lion in favor of a potential follow-up hit, "The Rumproller" (see my review). Even in hindsight, this was a good decision as "Tom Cat" doesn't quite add up to the sum of its parts. The material here is very good but I personally liked the expansive, exploratory path Lee's music was taking on "Search for the New Land" (see my review), and maybe unfairly have always looked at this disc as a step backward. Of course, none of that matters because the only direction Lee's music would go from now on was to the top of the charts. If for nothing more, "Tom Cat" is an interesting look back at a musician just before he became the top dog.

I've enjoyed Lee Morgan's work on other recordings, such as Hank Mobley's No Room for Squares, Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer, and the Jazz Messengers' The Big Beat, but haven't bought any of his own sessions until now. I purchased this based on the reviews and sound samples here on Amazon and wasn't disappointed. Recorded in 1964, but not released by the label until 1981, this is a strong set from an excellent group of musicians. Curtis Fuller on trombone, Jackie McLean on alto sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Art Blakey on drums join Lee Morgan here and all perform superbly. According to the liner notes, Blakey wasn't doing sideman gigs any more, but he made a special exception for his friend Lee for this session. Morgan had just returned from his self imposed exile and recorded The Sidewinder and Search for the New Land. While waiting for those albums to be released, he recorded Indestructible with The Jazz Messengers, then this album.

The release and success of The Sidewinder caused this album to be set aside in favor of attempting to follow up on the hit making formula. And that's really a shame, because this session is such a gas. Morgan wrote all but "Twilight Mist", a pretty Tyner ballad, played beautifully here. All the songs are extremely catchy and well constructed. "Tom Cat" is a slinky stirring piece with groove for days. Morgan's solos are evocative of the title animal and Jackie McLean's work here gave me goose bumps. "Exotique" is another excellent piece on which all the horn players provide skillful solos. The liner notes make mention of Morgan and McLean's ability to blend their horns into a third sound, which is heard in abundance here, especially on "Twice Around". "Riggarmortes" ends the album on a strong note, featuring an excellent melodic solo by Morgan, plus a great solo by Fuller, who to me sounds better here than on Coltrane's Blue Train. Put this album on and let this feline strut.

This is and was a very underrated album, until released 16 years later from the Blue Note vault...
now greatly appreciated by jazz fans. As good as, if not one of Lee Morgan's best -
up there with Sidewinder, for sure! What a stellar line-up, including McCoy Tyner on keys,
comping and soloing beautifully..
And Lee and Jackie McLean have a special rapport. Art Blakey is in fine fettle, and
his work on the traps is musically right on! There's nothing but all good
about this album. Curtis Fuller's solos are cool. Lee's compositions
are straight out of the Blue Note handbook of awesome jazz compositions.. a
great mixed set, which generally swings hard, the exception being the ballad-like
Tyner comp. But, look fans, this is Lee Morgan in absolutely excellent form.. 1965!
What a year for jazz!!!

A great set from Lee Morgan, but caveat emptor--this is another example of when less is more. There's a lot of background noise on these tapes. I've heard tapes from the 1950s (like Sonny Rollins's "Way Out West") that are much better than some Blue Note 1960s releases. The sound here is grainy and dry.

I see no point in remastering material that hasn't been well preserved. There could be subsequent generation tapes that sound better than the original masters, and previous releases that sound better than the "RVG" version. Reissue engineers should take the best sounding tape of the track when putting together a new edition. And I think the proliferation of new editions aimed at audiophiles is often just a marketing ploy, with no real sonic benefit.

That's no surprise, given that I got into his work w/the Messengers. So far, everything I have that he's on, grabs me.