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Dave Morgan: Blue Is More Than a Color

By Jack Bowers
June 1, 2019
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If nothing else, bassist-composer

Dave Morgan

bass, acoustic
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Morgan's album, Blue Is More Than a Color, affirms that big-band jazz is alive and well in the Akron, Ohio, area. Perhaps more than coincidentally, Morgan's large and well-drilled ensemble plies its trade on a regular basis at Akron's Blu Jazz Club whose patrons may presumably hear previews of the seven original compositions by Morgan that comprise the sum total of a colorful and provocative studio session.

Morgan's compositions are resourceful and modern, using every facet of the orchestra to reconcile, in his words, "the energy of the Mingus band, the finesse of the

Maria Schneider

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Maria Schneider Orchestra, the grandeur of the

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny Group, the melodicism of

Kenny Wheeler

flugelhorn
1930 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Wheeler and the humanity of

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra." Of course, the degree to which Morgan has succeeded rests in the mind, heart and ear of the listener. In the opinion of some enthusiasts, if he and the band should fail to reach such an ambitious goal, it is certainly not owing to any lack of diligence or imagination.

On the other hand, there is an almost total absence of the sort of unbridled energy and drive that were hallmarks of the storied Big Band era, a liability shared with many of Morgan's contemporaries including those touched on earlier. The qualifier "almost" is necessary as the band does swing in time-honored big-band tradition on the last number, "Cosmology" (YouTube clip, below), burning rubber behind

Dave Kana

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Kana's robust tenor solo. Prior to that, tempos are unhurried to moderate, starting with the perceptive "Point of Beginnings," which uses

Amanda Powell

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Amanda Powell's wordless vocal to good effect, as it does a muscular solo by tenor

Pete Mills

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Pete Mills. The open-hearted title song uses its more than twelve-minute playing time to encompass sharp ensemble work and eloquent solos by trumpeter

Jack Schantz

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack Schantz and trombonist

Chris Anderson

trombone
1926 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Anderson. The sound of hands clapping introduces the frisky "Jungian Slip," on which alto

Nathan-Paul Davis

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nathan-Paul Davis and trombonist

Sam Blakeslee

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Blakeslee share solo honors, as do clarinetists Tom Reed and

Brad Wagner

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Wagner with Schantz on the melodious bossa, "Coisa Nova."

Morgan pays homage to the aforementioned Charlie Haden on "In This Moment," a ballad whose lyric is printed in the liner notes but unsung on the album. Tenor

Chris Coles

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Coles and pianist

Theron Brown

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Theron Brown are the soloists. Morgan solos only once, with soprano

Howie Smith

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Howie Smith, on "You Never Were," the leader's seductive restatement of Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein's exquisite standard, "All the Things You Are." Although it's not an emblematic big-band album, the admirably performed and recorded Blue Is More Than a Color is sharp and persuasive on its own terms.

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Track Listing

Point of Beginning; Blue Is More Than a Color; Jungian Slip; Coisa Nova; In This Moment; You Never Were; Cosmology.

Personnel

Dave Morgan

bass, acoustic

Dave Morgan: composer, arranger, leader, bass; Scott McKee: trumpet; J.D. Chaisson: trumpet; Joe Badaczewski: trumpet; Jack Schantz: trumpet; Howie Smith: alto sax; Nathan-Paul Davis: alto sax; Kent Engelhardt: alto sax, clarinet; Chris Coles: tenor sax; Dave Kana: tenor sax; Pete Mills: tenor sax, clarinet; Dan Heasley: tenor sax, flute; Brad Wagner: alto, baritone sax, clarinet; Chris Anderson: trombone; Sam Blakeslee: trombone; Jason Hadgis: trombone; Hakeem Bilal: bass trombone; Theron Brown: piano; Brandon Scott Coleman: guitar; Isaac Hraga: guitar; Dan Mihelarakis: guitar; Jim Rupp: drums; Glenn Schaft: drums, percussion; Anthony Taddeo: drums, percussion; Rex Benincasa: percussion; Amanda Powell: voice.

Album information

Title: Blue Is More Than a Color | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Being Time Records

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