Lee Morgan - The Procrastinator

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.