Lee Morgan - All-Star Sextet (King Records, Japan) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/96 Khz + CD-format

It is surprising that Lee Morgan's The Procrastinator was not released when it was recorded in 1967 for the sextet (which includes Wayne Shorter, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins) lives up to their potential on a well-rounded set of originals by Morgan and Shorter. The music ranges from the funky "Party Time" (which sounds like it could have been written by Horace Silver) to more explorative pieces.

The fact that THE PROCRASTINATOR is a shade more atmospheric than other Morgan recordings from this period can be attributed to several factors. For one, the presence of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes gives Morgan new colors to work with as a composer, which he does to great effect on the title cut. The title cut features an elegiac opening statement reminiscent of the Modern Jazz Quartet; the tune ultimately yields to a sort of long-form variation on the blues. Another factor is the continued involvement of Wayne Shorter as a composer on Morgan's dates. Shorter's two contributions, the ballad "Dear Sir" and the bossa "Rio" share a questioning, ambiguous quality that draws the trumpeter into a more introspective zone.

Elsewhere, however, Morgan is still his confident and exuberant self. "Party Time," while less self-consciously "funky" than other tunes of the era, is nevertheless the kind of simmering, get-down minor blues that epitomized the "Blue Note Sound." The elegant, swinging "Soft Touch" is also in a minor key–the pensive head gives way to a series of searching solos over the uncluttered changes. "Stopstart," in this context, comes across as almost a throwback, more bebop than hardbop.