The best albums from legendary Blue Note Records jazz catalogue get impeccable audiophile treatment by Analogue Productions, cut at 45rpm for ultimate sound quality by equaly legendary mastering engineers Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech, preserving all the analog glory of the Original Master Tapes to bring these sessions to life in spectacular fashion, like they deserve.

• Limited Edition
• Numbered Edition
• Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes
• Cut by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman
• Mastered at AcousTech
• 2LP 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 45rpm
• Pressed by RTI USA

"…As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands…Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me…I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud." – Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile

This album is unique within Lee Morgan's vast and rich Blue Note discography. With then current employer Art Blakey, band mate Bobby Timmons on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, the trumpeter abandons time constraints and stretches out on four, soulful, hard-bop compositions (the first and the last are by Cal Massey). These hard bop masters are constantly inspired by Blakey's explosive grooves.

In 1960 when Lee-Way was recorded, Lee Morgan was 21 years old and the brightest young trumpeter in jazz. He had already led at least nine albums of his own, toured the world with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, and since 1958 had been a significant member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Morgan had not only filled the huge gap left by Clifford Brown's death in 1956 but was becoming one of the most influential of all trumpeters. Freddie Hubbard, who was actually a few months older, both admired and feared the fiery Morgan's playing. Not only was Morgan a master at playing hard bop but his soulful style and his cocky and assertive playing made him a distinctive giant as well as a natural leader.

Lee-Way is an often-overlooked classic. We all know about such Morgan recordings as The Sidewinder, Candy, The Cooker, Cornbread and The Gigolo. Lee-Way is on the same high level, with Lee being joined by the passionate altoist Jackie McLean, the funky pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Blakey for four memorable performances. Two of Calvin Massey's best compositions (including "These Are Soulful Days") are fully explored along with McLean's "Midtown Blues" and Morgan's "The Lion and the Wolff" (dedicated to the co-founders of Blue Note). The music is overflowing with timeless soul and inventive improvisations that look towards the future. Don't miss this one!

Musicians:

Lee Morgan, trumpet
Jackie McLean, alto saxophone
Bobby Timmons, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
Art Blakey, drums

Track Listing:

1. These Are Soulful Days
2. The Lion And The Wolff
3. Midtown Blues
4. Nakatini Suite

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫