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…

Booker Little, Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee on April 2, 1938. He studied trumpet and music at the Chicago Conservatory from 1956 to 1958 during which time he worked with local musicians like Johnny Griffin. A move to New York offered him the opportunity to work with Max Roach and Eric Dolphy, recording with the later on the 1960 Far Cry session and leading a residency at the Five Spot in 1961. This collaboration would produce three classic albums for Prestige Records.

It was during this stint that he began to show promise of expanding the expressive range of the “vernacular” bebop idiom started by Clifford Brown in the mid-1950s. As a leader he recorded four albums and recorded another eleven as a sideman with Dolphy, Max Roach, John Coltrane, Slide Hampton, Bill Henderson, Abbey Lincoln and Frank Strozier during his short four years from 1958-1961.

Little made an important contribution to jazz as one of the first trumpeters to develop his own voice post Clifford Brown, though stylistically, he is rooted in Brown’s crisp articulation, burnished tone and balanced phrasing. Trumpeter and composer Booker Little died of complications resulting from uremia due to kidney failure at the age of 23 on October 5, 1961 in New York City.

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PHILIP HARPER FEATURING WINARD HARPER

Philip and Winard Harper are celebrated jazz musicians born in America, a trumpeter and drummer respectively, known for leading the acclaimed post-bop group, The Harper Brothers, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They recorded successful albums for Verve Records and toured internationally, with Winard continuing as a prominent bandleader and sideman.

The Band
Philip Harper / Trumpet
Winard Harper / Drums
Rico Jones / Tenor Saxophone
Raphael Silverman / Guitar
Maki Nientao / Piano
Jason Maximo Clotter ~ Bass

Tickets: $40.00

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CURTIS TAYLOR

Curtis Taylor is a dynamic jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator whose artistry bridges technical mastery and soulful expression. Raised in Bedford, Ohio he began playing trumpet at an early age and committed to a life in jazz after formative concert experiences in his youth. He honed his craft under the mentorship of leading artists while studying at Michigan State University and Rutgers University.

JAZZ at MOCA is South Florida’s longest-running free outdoor jazz concert series and one of the museum’s most beloved public programs for in-person open air musical entertainment.

Since 1999, Jazz at MOCA has been presented on the MOCA Plaza on the last Friday of the month.  Attendees pay as you wish for admission to the museum from 7 to 10pm. Seating starts at 7pm, concert begins at 8pm.

TICKETS: FREE

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ETIENNE CHARLES

Etienne Charles is a performer, composer and storyteller, who is constantly searching for untold tales and sounds with which to tell them. His lush trumpet sound, varied compositional textures and pulsating percussive grooves enable him to invoke trance, soothing and exciting listeners. His concerts engage, enlighten, educate and enrich audiences with energized multidisciplinary performance utilizing original composition, thematic improvisation, dance, and spoken word to create a holistic experience. A firm believer in music and performance as a tool for provoking thought and dialogue, Etienne’s themes speak to the status quo while drawing parallels to history.

Born in Trinidad, his work is actively connecting the diaspora and drawing lines to the regions at the roots of migrations, evident in his latest release, Live in San Francisco Vol. 1. As a sideman, Etienne has performed with and/or arranged for Roberta Flack, Chucho Valdes, Marcus Roberts, Marcus Miller, Count Basie Orchestra, Monty Alexander, Gregory Porter, Terri Lyne Carrington, and many others. He has been commissioned as a composer and arranger by Lincoln Center for the New York Philharmonic, Savannah Music Festival and Chamber Music America. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Studio Music and Jazz at University of Miami Frost School of Music.

Tickets: $46.78 fees included

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