In 1961 Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter formed the frontline of one of the greatest versions of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In 1967 they had a reunion for The Procrastinator, showing just how much they both had grown through the years. Morgan, who had a major hit with "The Sidewinder" a few years earlier, had broken away from the Clifford Brown trumpet tradition to become a brash, adventurous and consistently stunning soloist who perfectly symbolized the era.

Morgan's brand of forward-looking hard bop was influenced by free jazz and put a premium on uninhibited self-expression. Shorter sounded unlike anyone else and wrote highly original compositions. Playing in a sextet with Bobby Hutcherson and Herbie Hancock, Morgan and Shorter contributed all of the songs which include the funky "Party Time" (which could have been a hit for Horace Silver) and other pieces that push hard bop to its limit. The results are exhilarating, vital and timeless.

Like all Music Matters Jazz releases, this audiophile vinyl reissue is mastered from the original analog tape and pressed on 180g virgin vinyl at RTI in Camarillo, CA. The highest quality gatefold cover features original session photography on the inside.



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