Blue Note’s New ‘Truly, Madly, Deeplee’ Boxset Celebrates Lee Morgan
Out on January 2 and curated by Blue Note label boss Dan Was, the new limited edition release celebrates Blue Note star Lee Morgan.
Out on January 2, Blue Note Review, Volume Three: Truly, Madly, Deeplee is a limited-edition box set curated by Blue Note President Don Was – and this time the seminal jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan is in the spotlight.
In this third volume, the heart of the Blue Note Review remains the music—The Finest In Jazz Since 1939—and there’s even more than before in Volume Three with an exclusive collection of new recordings, an exclusive previously unreleased discovery, and timeless treasures from the Blue Note vaults. To make it all sound great the “Tone Poet” Joe Harley supervised the vinyl mastering and manufacturing with mastering by Kevin Gray.
Truly, Madly, Deeplee includes a new album on 2-LP, 180g 12” vinyl (CD version also included) of modern jazz luminaries including Joel Ross, Bill Frisell, Derrick Hodge, ARTEMIS, Chris Botti, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, and Keyon Harrold performing pieces from Lee Morgan’s classic Blue Note albums plus a previously unreleased alternate version of “Morgan the Pirate” from Search For The New Land.
In addition, the boxset includes a 10” vinyl release of a never-before-issued jam session at the Gate of Horn in Chicago, probably in 1959. Discovered by Zev Feldman, the session was led by Philly Joe Jones, and features Lee Morgan, Ira Sullivan, Nicky Hill, Bobby Timmons, and Spanky DeBrest.
Also included in Truly, Madly, Deeplee is an all-analog 180g 12” vinyl reissue of Lee Morgan’s 1967 album Sonic Boom featuring David Newman, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, and Billy Higgins. There is also an all-analog 45rpm 7” vinyl reissue of Lee Morgan’s 1966 singles “Sweet Honey Bee” and “Hey Chico” from his Charisma session featuring Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers, and Billy Higgins.
Finally, there is also some fantastic memorabilia, including a Blue Note 45rpm Record Adaptor; two 12”x12” lithographs of Lee Morgan by photographer and Blue Note co-founder Francis Wolff and the zine Out Of The Blue featuring a collection of essays, photos, and more.
One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note label, the influential Lee Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording with bandleaders like John Coltrane, Curtis Fuller, Dizzy Gillespie, Hank Mobley and Wayne Shorter, and playing in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
Morgan’s signature composition “The Sidewinder”, on the album of the same name, became a surprise crossover hit on the pop and R&B charts in 1964. After a second stint in Blakey’s band, he continued to work prolifically as both a leader and a sideman until his death in 1972.
