Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nick Moran was born on April 14, 1963 in New York City and began playing trumpet at age ten, switching over to the guitar at thirteen. His early musical influences were the British rock guitarists Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Peter Frampton. He played in several rock groups throughout high school and college while studying classical guitar. He first discovered the music of George Benson at age fifteen along with Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
Nick’s study of jazz began informally in 1991 with arranging and ear training classes at the Fachbereich Musik in Mainz, Germany, where he also played guitar and trumpet in the university big band. He returned to New York in 1998 and began formal jazz studies and graduated from City College of New York in 2001. He did rhythm section studies for two years with bassist Ron Carter and studied composition with pianist/arranger Mike Holober.
He has been a member of the Ray Santos Orchestra, Akiko Tsuruga, Shunzo Ohno, Tom Hubbard, Marco Panascia, Adam Rafferty, Rick Stone, Nick Russo and Russ Spiegel, Cliff Korman and Burt Eckoff. Nick Moran currently leads two bands, is an active solo performer, plays a seven-string guitar, performs throughout New York City and is a producer and recording engineer.
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Requisites
Tom Cat ~ Lee Morgan | By Eddie Carter
Submitted for your approval this morning is a Lee Morgan album that many may not be familiar with. Tom Cat (Blue Note Classic LT-1058) is an excellent hard bop album originally recorded in 1964. However, its release was postponed because “The Sidewinder” achieved tremendous success for both the trumpeter and the label. “Search For The New Land,” another superb 1964 session, was released two years later, but Tom Cat remained unreleased until sixteen years after it was recorded. Curtis Fuller on trombone; Jackie McLean on alto saxophone; McCoy Tyner on piano; Bob Cranshaw on bass; and Art Blakey on drums complete the sextet. The copy I own is the 1980 U.S. stereo release.
The album opener is the title tune, Tom Cat, by Lee Morgan. The trio’s introduction strolls in like a cat entering a room ahead of the sextet’s easygoing melody. Lee definitely gets his message across to the listener in the lead solo. Jackie finds common ground in the second reading. Curtis follows with a mellow swing next, then McCoy is as good as it gets in the closer preceding the theme’s reprise and fadeout. Lee’s Exotique begins with a mysterious modal introduction that blossoms into the ensemble’s lively theme. Morgan leads off with an exciting opening solo, then McLean steps in to deliver a spirited statement. Fuller responds to the cooking intensity next, then Tyner follows with a concise comment. Lee adds a few more thoughts, and Blakey gets the last word before the closing chorus dissolves into nothingness.
Twice Around by Lee Morgan opens with the quintet’s introduction slowly, then picks up pace rapidly for the ensemble’s brisk theme. Curtis steps out first on this uptempo cooker, then Jackie opens it up further with a robust reading. Lee takes care of business in the first of two scintillating statements. McCoy follows him with a swift solo, then Lee returns to wail briefly. Art sails in last for a short workout, leading to the theme’s restatement and finale. Twilight Mist is a beautiful, tender ballad by McCoy Tyner. The pianist opens the song with a gentle introduction before Morgan leads the group through the lovely melody. The trumpeter approaches the opening statement elegantly, then steps aside for Tyner’s haunting interpretation ahead of the return to the theme and a gorgeous ending.
Rigormortis by Lee Morgan takes us home on an upbeat note with the sextet’s brisk theme led by the front line. Lee sets things in motion with an invigorating solo. Jackie finds his groove with a few swinging ideas next. Curtis scores a bullseye in the following reading, and McCoy is on target in a lively short statement. Lee and Art build an effective climax, bouncing ideas off each other, leading to the closing chorus. Alfred Lion produced Tom Cat, and Rudy Van Gelder managed the recording console. The album’s sound quality is excellent, with an outstanding soundstage that lets the musicians deliver a private studio session in the listener’s listening room.
If you’ve had a long day or week and are in the mood to unwind with an exceptional, hard bop album, I invite you to discover Tom Cat by Lee Morgan on your next visit to your favorite record shop. Lee and an extraordinary lineup deliver 41 minutes of enjoyable music that’s impossible to listen to without your fingers snapping and your toes tapping. Though lesser known and overlooked in Morgan’s discography, Tom Cat is an excellent release that should easily earn its place in any jazz library!
~ Search For The New Land (Blue Note BLP 4169/BST 84169), The Sidewinder (Blue Note BLP 4157/BST 84157) – Source: Discogs.com © 2026 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Omar Sosa was born on April 10, 1965 in Camaguey, Cuba and began studying marimba at age eight, then switched to piano and studied jazz while attending the Escuela Nacional de Musica in Havana.
In 1993 Omar moved to Quito, Ecuador, then San Francisco, California two years later. The following years saw him deeply involved in the local Latin jazz scene and a long collaboration with percussionist John Santos. He made a series of recordings with producer Greg Landau, including the groundbreaking Oaktown Irawo, featuring Tower of Power drummer Dave Garibaldi, Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry and Cuban percussionist Jesus Diaz.
Omar works outside jazz and Afro-Cuban traditions incorporating Latin rhythms, North African percussions, spoken word, rap and classical music. He music ranges from big band, improvisation and world to free jazz and avant-garde.
He won The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Jazz Album category for Ceremony in 2011. Inspired by various musical elements and motifs from Kind Of Blue, Sosa wrote a suite of music honoring the spirit of freedom in Davis’ seminal work. The CD received a nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 56th annual Grammy Awards.
In 2015 he returned to his Cuban roots with the release of Ilé. Joining him on the project were three musicians with whom Omar shares a close connection: fellow Camagüeyanos, Ernesto Simpson on drums, and Leandro Saint-Hill on alto saxophone, flute and clarinet, and Mozambican electric bassist Childo Tomas – collectively known as Quarteto AfroCubano. Pianist, composer and bandleader Omar Sosa has recorded with Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Pancho Quinto and numerous world musicians, worked on several film scores, and now lives in Barcelona, Spain.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ali Jackson Jr. was born on April 3, 1976 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, a classical pianist, taught him piano and how to read music at age 4, his father, a professional bass player, taught him music theory and gave him drums lesson from rudiment books.
Attending Detroit’s prestigious Cass Technical High School, he went on to matriculate through The New School For Jazz and Contemporary Music and privately studying with Elvin Jones and Max Roach.
Ali has recorded two albums as a leader and as a sideman has performed and recorded with musicians including with Joshua Redman, Anat Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wynton Marsalis, Jacky Terrasson, Craig Handy, James Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Harry Connick Jr., KRS-1, Marcus Roberts, Cyrus Chestnut, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall and Eric Reed.
Ali Jackson is currently the drummer with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, performs with the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, Horns in the Hood, and leads the Ali Jackson Quartet. He is also the voice of “Duck Ellington,” a character in the Penguin book series Baby Loves Jazz and has hosted “Jammin’ with Jackson,” a series for young musicians at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy Club Coca-Cola.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rodrigo Villanueva was born in Mexico City, Mexico on March 26, 1967 and began playing drums at age of 15, studying privately and taking classical percussion and jazz studies at Escuela Superior de Musica, Ollin Yolitztly and Escuela Nacional de Musica. In 1987, he joined the jazz group Atri 5 recording Ice Cream Concerto and Flavors of the Stars, touring Mexico and playing in several international new music festivals.
Over the course of his career Rodrigo has performed in several theater bands, television shows and studio sessions; and in the jazz/classical genre with Carlos Prieto, Roberto Limón, Marisa Canales, Ana Maria Tradatti and Takagoshi Yoshioka to name a few. He has been a member of the Contemporary Jazz Trio, Brass Explosion, Fénix and Jazztlán; and has co-led the group Espiral.
Villanueva has toured the U.S., Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia with several jazz and pop projects, has won the National Final Nescafe-Yamaha Pop Music Award Band Explosion with the group Corazón Latino, and has composed and arranged in the jazz and pop idioms including big band. He has played with his alma mater’s lab bands at the University of North Texas, performed with Charles McPherson, Eddie Gomez, Clark Terry, Wycliffe Gordon, Stefan Karlsson, Jimmy Owens and Fareed Haque amongst his list of many.
As an educator drummer and percussionist Villanueva has taught drum-set and percussion courses and master classes at different institutions in Mexico, the U.S., Perú, Korea, & Japan. He is currently an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University, coaches the NIU Jazz Lab Band and continues to play with several groups.
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