The Young Lions - The Young Lions

The Young Lions Review

 

by Michael G. Nastos

  [-]

Irvin Shaw wrote the novel The Young Lions from which this all star post-to-hard bop all-star band took their name, launching the moniker of a generation of Wynton Marsalis-led followers in the '80s. Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Frank Strozier on alto sax, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and either Louis Hayes or Albert "Tootie" Heath (sic as "Tuttie") on drums comprise the original Lions, a one-shot band who set the standard for the Blue Note-Riverside-based players who would follow in their path. There's a true democratic, shared value and responsibility evident in every sonic phase of this recording, but it is Shorter who wrote all the material. His "Seeds of Sin" is a sweet, swinging shuffle full of original harmonic thought. "Scourin'" (sic as "Scourn'") displays a head-nodding swing inspired by quarter-note walking bass courtesy of the unflappable Cranshaw, and wondrous sax-trumpet unity. Timmons' huge, funky piano chords lead to all three horns strutting joyously in melodic agreement during "Fat Lady"; the solos perfectly display the individualism of Shorter's piquant tenor, Morgan's brash trumpet, and Strozier's slightly strained alto before a brief trading of fours with the unidentified drummer. Shorter's tenor is up front, with Morgan on the second melody and Strozier following along for the tightly structured "Peaches & Cream," which is not a team effort until the very last note. Over 11 ½ minutes, "That's Right" proffers an easy, bluesy 12-bar swing in a jam vehicle, with Timmons as pied piper, the horns shouting out in unison, chord punctuations from the pianist, and doo wop accents for the solos. Morgan uses a mute, and Shorter's tenor is fluid as a country stream. There are three alternate takes: A fourth try of "Seeds" is five seconds longer and not only sweet, but a little sour; on a third rendition of "Scourin'," the 35-second bass intro is omitted as Shorter's tenor digs right in and less unison is evident; and with an extra 24 seconds, the third taping of "Fat Lady" only differs in solo content. This is a classic, and one every modern jazz fan should have. The liner notes, written by Cannonball Adderley, are also priceless; they discuss the "glorification of mediocrity," a rip on Dick Clark, country-pop, comformity, and railing against modern jazz naysayers. The notes also include other poignant observations that still ring true today. Interesting reading, ultimately interesting music.

   The Young Lions       The Young Lions   

1. "Seeds of Sin" (Shorter) – 5:44
2. "Scourn'" (Shorter) – 5:58
3. "Fat Lady" (Shorter) – 5:03
4. "Peaches and Cream" (Shorter) – 6:52
5. "That's Right" (Morgan) – 11:37

Bonus tracks on CD reissue:  

6. "Seeds of Sin" [Alternate take] – 5:43
7. "Scourn'" [Alternate take] – 6:17
8. "Fat Lady" [Alternate take] – 5:23

• Lee Morgan – trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – tenor sax
• Frank Strozier – alto sax
• Bobby Timmons – piano
• Bob Cranshaw – bass
• Louis Hayes (1, 2, 6, 7), Albert "Tootie" Heath (3–5, 8) – drums

The Young Lions is an album by an ad hoc group of jazz musicians: Wayne Shorter, Frank Strozier, Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, Bob Cranshaw, Albert Heath and Louis Hayes. It was recorded in 1960 and released in 1961 on Vee-Jay Records.^[3]

The album title echoes that of a popular 1948 novel by Irwin Shaw which had been made into a feature film shortly before the album was recorded. In the album's liner notes, saxophonist Cannonball Adderley uses Shaw's novel to make an argument about jazz. Adderley writes that there is a tension in modern jazz between tradition (as represented by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk) and the avant-garde (which at the time included Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and Jimmy Giuffre), and suggests that conformity to either traditionalism or the avant-garde is stifling of "true genius":

We are living the era of the glorification of mediocrity. These are the times when teenagers may become wealthy by writing and performing mediocre songs. When a scarcely-literate hillbilly with dubious talent may become a star with a million dollar income, or when an "All American Boy" type can spin records to which teenagers dance and become a major television personality. Many of us believe that such situations exist because we have allowed ourselves to conform to mass thinking and direction. The great novel by Irwin Shaw, The Young Lions, delivers several messages; among them, the parallel of conformity emanating from separate sources. One young man is a zealot in a community of conformist patriots who blindly follow a man bent on righting a situation that is wrong only in his ego-maniacal mind. The other young man is an unenthusiastic patriot in military service, who adheres to the "Great American Ideal," which is itself conformity. Modern jazz today is standing on the threshold of destruction by those who would do it good. The lines are drawn and clearly marked. The traditionalists are those who unofficially feel that music introduced to us by Parker, Gillespie, and Monk has not been fully developed. The avant-garde feel that music is reactionary unless something "different" is either suggested or produced stylistically. Fortunately jazz making is highly personalized and true genius will not conform to direction. "The Young Lions" who made the music on this album have varied musical philosophies and sundry jazz backgrounds.^[4]

The "young lions" phrase was revived in jazz in the 1980s when, as in 1960, there was a tension between the modern jazz traditionalists and the avant-garde. A group of young musicians including Wynton Marsalis who played neo-bop jazz were frequently referred to in the jazz press as "young lions". Notably, the phrase was used as part of the title of an Elektra/Musician album which featured Marsalis, The Young Lions (A Concert Of New Music Played By Seventeen Exceptional Young Musicians).

From Wikipedia