Search for the New Land by Lee Morgan (1966)

Recorded years before his landmark The Sidewinder was released, SftNL is not only one of Morgan's finest but one of the finest hard bop cuts ever.

A serious cover and serious title for serious music. I see the title as a split between a reference to the Civil Rights movement/Africa's struggle to overthrow colonialism (in part made clear by “Mr. Kenyatta” a tribute to Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first post-colonial President) and his own personal journey. Though barely in his mid 20s when it was recorded, he’d already been a former teen prodigy.

Almost every bit here is as radical and revelatory as the last — if not exactly as profound as what is found on his most talked about works, certainly a hair away.

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