Lee Morgan - Search for the New Land (1964)

This set (the CD reissue is a duplicate of the original LP) is one of the finest Lee Morgan records. The great trumpeter contributes five challenging compositions ("Search for the New Land," "The Joker," "Mr. Kenyatta," "Melancholee," and "Morgan the Pirate") that deserve to be revived. Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist Grant Green, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Billy Higgins are all in particularly creative form on the fresh material, and they stretch the boundaries of hard bop (the modern mainstream jazz of the period). The result is a consistently stimulating set that rewards repeated listenings.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Search for the New Land (15:45)
02 - The Joker (05:04)
03 - Mr. Kenyatta (08:43)
04 - Melancholee (06:14)
05 - Morgan the Pirate (06:31)

Line-up:
Lee Morgan – trumpet
Grant Green – guitar
Herbie Hancock – piano
Billy Higgins – drums
Wayne Shorter – tenor sax
Reggie Workman – bass

Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple (1966)

With the possible exception of its song, "Footprints," which would become a jazz standard, Adam's Apple received quite a bit less attention upon its release than some of the preceding albums in Wayne Shorter's catalog. That is a shame because it really does rank with the best of his output from this incredibly fertile period. From the first moments when Shorter's sax soars out in the eponymous opening track, with its warmth and roundness and power, it is hard not to like this album. It might not be turning as sharp of a corner stylistically as some of his earlier works, like Speak No Evil, but its impact is only dulled by the fact that Shorter has already arrived at the peak of his powers. Taken in isolation, this is one of the great works of mid-'60s jazz, but when Shorter has already achieved a unique performance style, compositional excellence, and a perfectly balanced relationship with his sidemen, it is hard to be impressed by the fact that he manages to continue to do these things album after album. But Shorter does shine here, while allowing strong players like Herbie Hancock to also have their place in the sun. Especially hypnotic are two very different songs, the ballad "Teru" and Shorter's tribute to John Coltrane, "Chief Crazy Horse," both of which also allow Hancock a chance to show what he could do.

by Stacia Proefrock in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop
Hard-Bop
Modal

Tracks:
01 - Adam's Apple (6:52)
02 - 502 Blues (Drinkin' And Drivin') (6:36)
03 - El Gaucho (6:32)
04 - Footprints (7:31)
05 - Teru (6:15)
06 - Chief Crazy Horse (7:39)
07 - The Collector (6:55)

Line-up:
Wayne Shorter - tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock - piano
Reggie Workman - bass
Joe Chambers - drums

Archie Shepp - Four for Trane (1964)

From 1964, Archie Shepp's first date as a leader featured -- as one would expect from the title -- four tunes by John Coltrane, his mentor, his major influence, and his bandleader. The fact that this album holds up better than almost any of Shepp's records nearly 40 years after the fact has plenty to do with the band he chose for this session, and everything to do with the arranging skills of trombonist Roswell Rudd. The band here is Shepp on tenor, John Tchicai on alto, Rudd on trombone, Trane's bassist Reggie Workman, and Ornette Coleman's drummer Charles Moffett. Even in 1964, this was a powerhouse, beginning with a bluesed-out wailing version of "Syeeda's Song Flute." This version is ingenious, with Shepp allowing Rudd to arrange for solos for himself and Tchicai up front and Rudd punching in the blues and gospel in the middle, before giving way to double time by Workman and Moffett. The rawness of the whole thing is so down-home you're ready to tell someone to pass the butter beans when listening. Rudd's arrangement of "Naima" is also stunningly beautiful: He reharmonizes the piece for the mid-register tone of Shepp, who does his best Ben Webster and adds a microtonal tag onto the front and back, dislocating the tune before it begins and after it ends, while keeping it just out of the range of the consonant throughout. Wonderful! The only Shepp original here is "Rufus (Swung, His Face at Last to the Wind, Then His Neck Snapped)." It's not a terribly sophisticated tune, but it works in the context of this band largely because of the soloing prowess of all the members -- particularly Tchicai -- here. There is barely any melody, the key changes are commensurate with tempo shifts, and the harmonics are of the sliding scale variety. Still, there are the blues; no one can dig into them and honk them better than Shepp. When it came to sheer exuberance and expression, he was a force to be reckoned with in his youth, and it shows in each of the tunes recorded here. Four for Trane is a truly fine, original, and lasting album from an under-celebrated musician.

by Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Free Jazz
Hard Bop

Tracks:
01 - Syeeda's Song Flute (8:30)
02 - Mr. Syms (7:41)
03 - Cousin Mary (7:14)
04 - Naima (7:09)
05 - Rufus (Swung His Face At Last To The Wind, Then His Neck Snapped) (6:25)

Line-up:
Archie Shepp - tenor saxophone
Alan Shorter - flugelhorn
Roswell Rudd - trombone
John Tchicai - alto saxophone
Reggie Workman - bass
Charles Moffett - drums

John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane (1961)

The complicated rhythm patterns and diverse sonic textures on Olé are evidence that John Coltrane was once again charting his own course. His sheer ability as a maverick -- over and beyond his appreciable musical skills -- guides works such as this to new levels, ultimately advancing the entire art form. Historically, it's worth noting that recording had already commenced -- two days prior to this session -- on Africa/Brass, Coltrane's debut for the burgeoning Impulse! label. The two discs complement each other, suggesting a shift in the larger scheme of Coltrane's musical motifs. The assembled musicians worked within a basic quartet setting, featuring Coltrane (soprano/tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), and Elvin Jones (drums), with double-bass chores held down by Art Davis and Reggie Workman. Added to that are significant contributions and interactions with Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) and Eric Dolphy (flute and alto sax). Dolphy's contract with another record label prevented him from being properly credited on initial pressings of the album. The title track is striking in its resemblance to the Spanish influence heard on Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain. This is taken a bit further as Coltrane's combo stretches out with inspired improvisations from Dolphy, Hubbard, Tyner, and Coltrane, respectively. "Olé" likewise sports some amazing double-bass interaction. The combination of a bowed upright bass played in tandem with the same instrument that is being plucked has a sinister permeation that assuredly excited Coltrane, who was perpetually searching from outside the norms. The haunting beauty of "Aisha" stands as one of the finest collaborative efforts between Tyner -- the song's author -- and Coltrane. The solos from Hubbard, Dolphy, and an uncredited Tyner gleam from within the context of a single facet in a multi-dimensional jewel. The CD reissue also includes an extra track cut during the Olé sessions. "To Her Ladyship" is likewise on the seven-volume Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings box set.

by Lindsay Planer in All Music Guide

Styles:
Modal
Hard Bop
Post Bop

Tracks:
01 - Olé (18:15)
02 - Dahomey Dance (10:52)
03 - Aisha (7:39)
04 - To Her Ladyship [Bonus Track] (8:58)

Line up:
John Coltrane – soprano sax, tenor sax
Eric Dolphy – flute, alto sax
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
McCoy Tyner – piano
Reggie Workman – bass
Art Davis – bass
Elvin Jones – drums

Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969)

John Coltrane left behind a legacy of experimental and extremely spiritual work whose timeless quality still reverberates today. After his untimely death many poseurs came out to stake their claim as the next Coltrane. Many tried and many failed. Then in 1969 a former sideman of Coltrane's, Pharoah Sanders, stepped out from the shadow of his mentor and recorded Karma, which bore the soul of Coltrane's musical and spiritual passion.
Karma was released four years after his first record as a leader, Pharoah's First (1965). While working with Coltrane, Sanders began to develop an aggressive tone that ripped into an anarchaotic passion owing as much to Coltrane as Albert Ayler. His records as a leader did not always reflect the raw energy that would show up on Coltrane classics such as Ascension. His 1966 Impulse! debut, Tauhid, is a great example of this. Sanders let the work take on a generalized groove that worked with the mood created in each piece. In doing so, he created not only his best pre-Karma record, but one of his finest overall. After Coltrane's death, Pharoah worked with his widow Alice before setting to work on what would become Karma.
As with many records of the mid to late-'60s/early '70s, Karma is based primarily around the first of two album tracks, "The Creator Has a Master Plan." The track is one of the finest and best-executed and edited jams ever caught on record, though many critics would and will argue with that statement. The master plan of tracks on contemporaneous Miles Davis records like In a Silent Way or Bitches Brew was created by the editing and production efforts of Teo Maceo. Recordings like Free Jazz or Ascension, in contrast, worked by virtue of the way they tore down sonic and musical boundaries. Sanders incorporates these values into "The Creator," making it more than just a loose jam; no matter where Sanders goes, he is in total control. Even as the piece peaks into volatile eruptions roughly sixteen minutes in, he saddles the passion and works the track back into the initial groove that was comprised its first movement.
"Creator" comes in at 32:47 and wastes not a single note. Opening with a virtual rush of sound, it then quiets down and drops a brief riff from A Love Supreme. The tune then works itself into a groove that would later be known as acid jazz, working with Eastern percussion and allowing the bass to float close to the front of the mix. This first section relies on a modal two-chord structure that keeps the tone bouncy and meditative. At eight minutes Leon Thomas begins a chant-like vocal that varies lines from the mantra "The creator has a master plan, peace and love for every man." The vocals drop and the third movement becomes an unrelenting Coltranesque blitz that tears the mellow mood apart, only to combine the angst and mellowness in the next movement and settle back into a reprise of the first fourteen minutes.
"Colors," on the other hand, is a shorter and more structured piece that features some solid and well-executed chops. Again Leon Thomas sings, and Ron Carter takes over the duties of Richard Davis and Reggie Workman.
Love or hate the music of Pharoah Sanders, you cannot deny the man's vision after hearing this record. His is an absolute genius approach to arrangement and performance. Though Sanders would release many great records and even mellow his distinctive tenor sound down, Karma is a record that deserves to be heard by any serious jazz fan.

by Trevor McLaren in All About Jazz

Styles:
Progressive Jazz
Modal
Post-bop
Avant-Garde
Free-Jazz

Tracks:
01 - The Creator Has a Master Plan (32:47)
02 - Colors (05:36)

Line-up:
Pharoah Sanders - Sax (Tenor)
Leon Thomas - Percussion / Vocals
Julius Watkins - French Horn
James Spaulding - Flute (on track 1)
Lonnie Liston Smith - Piano
Reggie Workman - Bass
Richard Davis - Bass (on track 1)
Ron Carter - Bass (on track 2)
Billy Hart - Drums (on track 1)
Freddie Waits - Drums (on track 2)
Nathaniel Bettis - Percussion (on track 1)
Leon Thomas - Vocals