This set (the CD reissue is a duplicate of the original LP) is one of the finest Lee Morgan records. The great trumpeter contributes five challenging compositions ("Search for the New Land," "The Joker," "Mr. Kenyatta," "Melancholee," and "Morgan the Pirate") that deserve to be revived. Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist Grant Green, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Billy Higgins are all in particularly creative form on the fresh material, and they stretch the boundaries of hard bop (the modern mainstream jazz of the period). The result is a consistently stimulating set that rewards repeated listenings.

Scott Yanow, All Music Guide)

Signing to Blue Note as a teenage trumpet prodigy in 1956, Morgan had been with the label a decade when the company issued Search For The New Land. It had been recorded two years earlier but was shelved when Morgan hit the US pop charts with the single and album, The Sidewinder. Morgan leads an all-star sextet – including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Grant Green – on five enthralling self-penned compositions, that range from the beautifully meditative title track to the African-tinged hard bop of “Mr. Kenyatta.” The Sidewinder might have made Lee Morgan a household name but Search For The New Land highlighted the depth of his artistry.