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Blue Note · 1958

The Cooker

Lee Morgan

Recorded: September 29, 1957   Original cat#: BLP 1578
Lee Morgan — The Cooker album cover

The Cooker was recorded on September 29, 1957 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, produced by Alfred Lion. Rudy Van Gelder engineered it, two weeks after Morgan played on John Coltrane's Blue Train in the same studio. Morgan was 19, and this was his fifth Blue Note album as a leader. Blue Note released it in January 1958 as BLP 1578, in mono.

The band pairs Morgan's trumpet with Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, over Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. The record was mono first, with the stereo edition following years later. That matters, because a documented editing error affects the stereo master of "A Night in Tunisia," and owner reports describe the stereo mix as hard-panned.

Best early pressing for audiophiles: An original Blue Note BLP 1578 mono pressing.

Best modern pressing for audiophiles: The Blue Note Tone Poet edition (2020), mastered by Kevin Gray from the original tapes.

Best-value modern: The Classic Records 200g Quiex SV-P, with Bernie Grundman's mastering confirmed by the runout.

Recording history and tape provenance

Pepper Adams was not the original plan. Morgan told radio interviewer Dan McClosky in 1969 that Hank Mobley was booked for the second horn. Mobley could not make the date, and Adams stepped in.

The arrangements had to be reworked in the studio. Adams played at the top of the baritone's range more than he usually would, covering lines written for tenor. The record's unusual horn blend comes from that substitution.

This was the first Morgan album built on his own compositions, including "Heavy Dipper" and "New-Ma," and the first with no Benny Golson tunes. It opens with Charlie Parker's "A Night in Tunisia."

The stereo editing error

Liner notes for a 2006 CD reissue are reproduced on its Discogs entry. They state that the stereo master of "A Night in Tunisia" had the wrong out-theme insert ending edited onto the master take. The same error appears on The Best of Lee Morgan.

Blue Note corrected it for that 2006 reissue. The note also confirms that the stereo LP, BST 81578, appeared years after the mono original.

This is an error in the stereo tape chain, not in any particular pressing's mastering. It does mean a claim that a stereo pressing is definitive should say whether it addresses the splice.

Original Blue Note pressings (1958)

The mono BLP 1578 is the first pressing. Its variants and later Liberty-era repressings are listed on the Discogs master. Condition and label authenticity both matter, since clean originals of an early Morgan leader date carry real premiums.

Deep Groove Mono covers the original pressing in detail. A worn but playable copy costs a fraction of a mint one, which is worth weighing on a title with premiums this steep.

An owner review of the Classic Records reissue makes the case for mono on this title. It calls mono the way to hear the record, and better still through a mono cartridge.

Classic Records reissue

The Classic Records 200g Quiex SV-P is pressed with a deep groove and a flat edge. Its runouts read "BN-LP 1578-A BG" and "BN-LP 1578-B BG."

The "BG" is Bernie Grundman's runout signature, so the mastering credit comes from the record rather than from marketing copy.

Blue Note Tone Poet edition (2020)

The Tone Poet edition was released on April 24, 2020, catalogue B0031577-01, also carrying BST-81578. Kevin Gray cut and mastered it at Cohearent Audio. It was pressed at RTI (Record Technology Inc.) in Camarillo, California, with Joe Harley supervising.

It is stereo, 180g, in a Stoughton "Old Style" gatefold tip-on jacket. Blue Note describes the series as all-analog and mastered direct from the original master tapes.

Owner reviews on its Discogs page are mostly positive on sound, describing wide separation and natural cymbal decay. Several report clicks on the first track, and one notes flat, dead-quiet vinyl, so pressing quality appears to vary between copies.

Several owners also describe the stereo image as artificial, with both horns in one channel and the drums in the other. That is the 1957 stereo mix, not a fault of this pressing, and it is the main reason to consider a mono copy instead.

Buyer's guide by budget

$$$: The Classic Records 200g Quiex SV-P, with Grundman mastering confirmed by the runout.

$$$$: The Blue Note Tone Poet edition, for Kevin Gray's all-analog mastering and the deluxe jacket, accepting the 1957 stereo image.

$$$$: A clean original Blue Note BLP 1578 mono pressing, priced on condition.

Pressing tier summary

Tier ⇅ Pressing Cat# Year ⇅ Format Source / Mastering Notes Market ⇅
S Blue Note Tone Poet Series B0031577-01 / BST-81578 2020 Stereo, 33⅓, 180g Kevin Gray, Cohearent Audio. Pressed at RTI (Record Technology Inc.) All-analog. Stoughton gatefold tip-on. Some owners report clicks on side A
64 for sale · from $23
$63VG+
$82NM
$92M
A Blue Note original BLP 1578 1958 Mono, 33⅓ Rudy Van Gelder First pressing. One owner argues mono is the format for this record –
A Classic Records 200g Quiex SV-P BN-LP 1578 – Mono, 33⅓, 200g Bernie Grundman, confirmed by "BG" in the runout Deep groove, flat edge
13 for sale · from $114
$214VG+
$280NM
$312M
– Blue Note stereo BST 81578 Later 1950s–60s Stereo, 33⅓ Rudy Van Gelder Not rated. Carries the "A Night in Tunisia" out-theme splice –

References

Related guides: The Sidewinder · Somethin' Else · Cool Struttin'

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