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The discography of trumpeter Lee Morgan is a relatively short one, his life having been cut short at age 33 when he was murdered at the hands of his companion/common-law wife.  But in his 33 years, Morgan played with John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, and Quincy Jones; scored a pop crossover hit with “The Sidewinder;” and released over 20 albums as a leader.  Now, Blue Note Records has announced an expanded 50th anniversary reissue of Morgan’s final album released in his lifetime, 1971’s 2-LP set Live at the Lighthouse. The August 20 release of The Complete Live at the Lighthouse features all 12 sets performed by Morgan and his quintet including saxophonist Bennie Maupin, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Jymie Merritt, and drummer Mickey Roker at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California from July 10-12, 1970.

The Complete Live at the Lighthouse isn’t the first expanded edition of the album.  A 1996 reissue expanded the four-song 2LP set to 13 songs and 3 CDs; now, it’s arriving on 8 CDs or 12 all-analog, 180-gram LPs.  All told, The Complete version has 33 performances and more than four hours of previously unreleased music from the hard bop pioneer.

The late Jymie Merritt, whose compositions “Absolution” and “Nommo” were included on the original release, observes in the press release, “In a sense, it is holy music.  And that was the thing I felt throughout the performances at The Lighthouse, this was totally uncompromised music in terms of the way it went down.”  The sets also featured original works from Morgan, Mabern, and Maupin.  Blue Note’s Don Was notes, “Live at the Lighthouse probably gives us the clearest picture of where Lee Morgan was headed and, as such, is a record of monumental importance.”

The box set produced by Zev Feldman and David Weiss features a booklet containing interviews with Merritt (his final lengthy interview before his death last year) and Maupin; essays by Morgan’s biographer Jeffery McMillan and jazz historian-producer Michael Cuscuna; commentary from Jack DeJohnette (who sat in on one track), Wallace Roney, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Eddie Henderson, Dave Douglas, and others; previously unpublished photos by Joel Franklin and Lee Tanner; and a statement from Lee Morgan’s family.

The audio has been newly mixed from the original 1/2-inch four-track tapes by Steve Genewick at Capitol Studios with LP mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and vinyl manufactured at Record Technology Inc. (RTI). The CD mastering was done by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Studios.

Lee Morgan’s The Complete Live at the Lighthouse adds a major piece to the late artist’s discography.  It’s due in 8CD and limited edition 12LP box sets on August 20 from Blue Note and UMe, and will also be available digitally.  You’ll find pre-order links and the complete track listing below.

Lee Morgan, The Complete Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note LP BST-89906, 1971 – reissued Blue Note/UMe, 2021)

8CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
12LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1

Friday, July 10, 1970

1. Introduction by Lee Morgan (2:06) – Set 1
2. The Beehive (12:51) – Set 1*
3. Introduction (0:20) – Set 1
4. Something Like This (12:43) – Set 1
5. Yunjana (14:28) – Set 1*
6. Speedball (4:34) – Set 1*

CD 2

Friday, July 10, 1970

1. I Remember Britt (16:45) – Set 2*
2. Introduction (0:19) – Set 2*
3. Absolutions (21:55) – Set 2*
4. Speedball (3:46) – Set 2*

CD 3

Friday, July 10, 1970

1. Introduction (0:33) – Set 3*
2. Neophilia (18:52) – Set 3*
3. Introduction (0:47) – Set 3
4. 416 East 10th Street (11:46) – Set 3
5. The Sidewinder (12:49) – Set 3
6. Speedball (0:53) – Set 3

CD 4

Friday, July 10, 1970

1. Introduction (0:30) – Set 4*
2. Peyote (13:23) – Set 4*
3. Speedball (11:55) – Set 4

Saturday, July 11, 1970

4. Aon (13:47) – Set 1
5. Introduction (0:21) – Set 1*
6. Yunjana (17:32) – Set 1*

CD 5

Saturday, July 11, 1970

1. Introduction (0:14) – Set 2*
2. Something Like This (11:46) – Set 2*
3. Intro (0:28) – Set 2
4. I Remember Britt (14:25) – Set 2
5. Introduction (0:47) – Set 2*
6. The Beehive (15:23) – Set 2*
7. Speedball (7:00) – Set 2*

CD 6

Saturday, July 11, 1970

1. Neophilia (19:18) – Set 3*
2. Nommo (17:44) – Set 3
3. Peyote (11:24) – Set 4*
4. Absolutions (22:28) – Set 4

CD 7

Sunday, July 12, 1970

1. Introduction (1:37) – Set 1*
2. Something Like This (15:39) – Set 1*
3. Introduction (0:29) – Set 2
4. Yunjana (16:07) – Set 2
5. I Remember Britt (16:19) – Set 2*
6. Absolutions (19:35) – Set 2*
7. Speedball (0:27) – Set 2

CD 8

Sunday, July 12, 1970

1. Introduction (1:19) – Set 3
2. Neophilia (18:59) – Set 3
3. Introduction (0:46) – Set 3
4. The Beehive (15:11) – Set 3
5. Speedball (1:59) – Set 4
6. Peyote (9:27) – Set 4
7. Nommo (19:19) – Set 4*

(*) previously unreleased