About

Lee Morgan hadn’t cut a Blue Note session for more than two years when he entered Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs on April 28, 1960 to record Leeway. What was produced that day was vintage hard bop of the highest quality with the trumpeter leading a top-flight quintet featuring Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Bobby Timmons on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. The 4-song set includes Morgan’s hard-driving tribute to Blue Note’s founders “The Lion And The Wolff,” McLean’s emphatic “Midtown Blues,” and two pieces by composer Cal Massey: the easy-swinging “These Are Soulful Days” and rousing “Nakatini Suite.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. — (via Label)

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This date was one of trumpeter Lee Morgan's more obscure Blue Note sessions, but fortunately, it has been reissued on CD. Matched with altoist Jackie McLean, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, Morgan interprets two of Cal Massey's compositions, McLean's "Midtown Blues" and his own blues "The Lion and the Wolf." The music is essentially hard bop with a strong dose of soul; the very distinctive styles of the principals are the main reasons to acquire this enjoyable music. — (via AllMusic)

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Label: Blue Note
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180g
Reissued: 2026 / Originally Released: 1961
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop

File under: Blue Note
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