AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lee Morgan

Artist:Lee Morgan

Song:I Remember Clifford

Album:The Blue Note Years

With the success of Kasper Collin's excellent Lee Morgan documentary I Called Him Morgan, I thought it would be a good idea to recommend a compilation of his Blue Note recordings for those who have seen the film but need an introduction to Morgan's music. BTW, I Called Him Morgan is no longer on Netflix but it can be streamed on Kanopy for free with a library card. Though Morgan's 1964 album The Sidewainder is his his best known and the single even charted, Clifford Brown was Morgan's biggest influence. I Remember Clifford was written by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. Morgan and Golson were both in Dizzy Gillespie's mid-50s band. When that band split up, Morgan and Golson joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Golson was musical director. I Remember Clifford was first recorded on the 1957 Donald Byrd and Gigi Gryce album Jazz Lab. Though Byrd recorded a lot for Blue Note, this album was on Columbia. Around the same time, Morgan recorded I Remember Clifford on his 1957 album Vol. 3. This was Morgan's third Blue Note album. Golson wrote and arranged all the songs and played tenor sax. Other musicians are Gigi Gryce on alto sax and flute, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Charlie Persip on drums. Morgan and Golson joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and I Remember Clifford appeared on the live Jazz Messengers album 1958 -Paris Olympia. This album was released in France by Fontana. Plenty of jazz musicians have recorded I Remember Clifford. This Blue Note comp is perfect for beginners to Morgan's music. There are a couple of cheaper comps but this one is worth paying a little more. Golson left the Blakey band in 1959 and was replaced by Wayne Shorter. He formed The Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer and eventually moved to Los Angeles to become a studio musician. Morgan and Shorter left Blakey in 1964. Here's Lee Morgan with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with Benny Golson on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass performing I Remember Clifford in Belgium 1958.