Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Nate Morgan

Staying with Dusty Groove and the spiritual jazz vibe. First up Nate Morgan's Retribution, Reparation:

Great soul jazz from the LA underground! Pianist Nate Morgan plays in the tradition of McCoy Tyner and Stanley Cowell, with a swirling spiritual feel that's deeply rooted in a Love Supreme tradition. On this LP, he leads a quintet with Jesse Sharps on reeds and Danny Cortez on trumpet -- and the record's filled with spiralling modal grooves that glisten with the best of the 70s soul jazz underground. The set's a great batch of original compositions by Morgan, including "UGMAAGER", "Impulse", and "Mass Madness" -- and also includes versions of Herbie Hancock's "One Finger Snap" and Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday". Dusty Groove

The second essential album from Nate Morgan is his Journey Into Nigritia:

A lost spiritual soul jazz classic -- recorded in the early 80s, but with the feel of 70s independent work on labels like Strata East or Black Jazz! Pianist Nate Morgan's got a widely expansive vision -- working here in a style that incorporates lots of blocky chords and modal grooves, set in context with a tight group that includes alto sax solos by Dadisi Komolafe. All tracks are originals, and the album's got a sweeping majestic feel that would have made it an enduring classic, had it been issued a decade earlier! Titles include "He Left Us A Song", "Journey Into Nigritia", "Morning Prayer", "Mother", and "Study in CT". Dusty Groove

Find out more about Nate Morgan on these excellent jazz blogs:

Birds With Broken Wings

Orgy In Rhythm: Retribution, Reparation

Orgy In Rhythm: Journey Into Nigritia

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