Lee Morgan – Infinity

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Just two months after recording his exceptional sextet date Cornbread, the prolific trumpeter Lee Morgan was back in Van Gelder Studio in November 1965 with a slightly slimmed down — but no less robust — quintet line-up to record his next session Infinity, which wouldn’t be first released until 1981. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and drummer Billy Higgins — both of whom were featured on Cornbread — were at Morgan’s side once again along with pianist Larry Willis and bassist Reggie Workman for a five-song set that ventured to the far reaches of the hard bop tradition and beyond. Four compelling Morgan originals and McLean’s engaging ballad “Portrait of Doll” cover a wide expanse of musical terrain including the probing title track, the laid-back 6/8 groove of “Miss Nettie B,” the intricate interlaced lines of “Growing Pains,” and the hard-charging closer “Zip Code.”