Lee Morgan Quintet - Take Twelve — available from the Mr. Hansen Records collection in carefully graded condition. A solid copy — plays well with the character of a well-loved record. All records are cleaned, conservatively graded to the Goldmine standard, and packed with collector-grade care.
Why you'll love it...
It’s easy to lose the significance of this album when looking at the Morgan’s catalog as a whole. Take Twelve came just two years before The Sidewinder, a record that would not only cement Morgan’s place in jazz history, but further propel jazz into pop music territory. But let’s not talk about what came before or after; history has already sorted that out. Let’s talk about what happened in that Jazzland studio in New York on January 24, 1962. Let’s talk about how a man without became, once more, a man with everything to give. Take Twelve sounds like an announcement: I’m back. There’s no hesitancy, no unsure moves, no doubt. But from the first notes of the opening track the propulsive Morgan-composed “Raggedy Ann,” it’s clear that the magic, the spark, the thing that made him so special never went away. It’s urgent, driving, never letting up. When the beat slightly relaxes about two minutes in, it’s not so much an easing, it’s the feeling that you’ve been holding your breath, exhaling at last. Is it in the knowing? Knowing all that it took to record these notes? Maybe.