January/February 2000

David Morgan
Live at the Blue Note
Half Note Records

By Owen Cordle

Morgan's influences are hard to pin down, but bits of Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, Bud Powell, Art Tatum, and '60s-vintage Keith Jarrett appear in his eclectic (and sometimes desultory) approach on Live at the Blue Note. Bassist David Grossman offers a fragmented support style that sometimes interrupts the groove. Drummer Jason Marsalis is more straightahead and swinging. The program consists of five Morgan originals plus a couple of standards. Guitarist Peter Bernstein joins the group on several tracks. His sense of editing is a lesson to all.