1969’s Mother Ship, the final Blue Note album by visionary organist Larry Young, was the culmination of a tremendous run of records albums that redefined the sonic possibilities of the Hammond B3 organ. On his highly regarded 1965 album Unity, Young pushed the limits of his instrument into the far reaches of post-bop exploration. First released in 1980 as part of the LT Series, Mother Ship featured Lee Morgan on trumpet, Herbert Morgan on tenor saxophone, and Eddie Gladden on drums. The album bristles with unbridled kinetic energy while still delivering soulful grooves on a set of Young originals from the avant-garde tinged excursions of the title track and “Trip Merchant” to the in-the-pocket soul jazz of “Street Scene,” “Visions,” and “Love Drops.”
