Trumpeter Lee Morgan was a stalwart of the driving jazz-meets-funk-meets-blues grooves produced by Blue Note in the 1960’s. A flashy player of enormous technique and invention, he emerged on the scene in the mid–’50s with a sound reminiscent of Clifford Brown, and quickly developed his own style, fusing classic bebop motifs with more modern rhythms, harmonies and melodies.
Born July 10, 1938, in Philadelphia into a musical family, Morgan studied privately and began playing professionally by the age of 15. In the summer of 1956 he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, a gig he kept until 1958 when he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Also in ’56, Morgan recorded his first session for Blue Note, Presenting Lee Morgan, his first of nearly 30 albums for the label. He returned to Philly in 1961 to work with saxophonist Jimmy Heath, among others, and went to New York in 1963 to focus on recording for Blue Note. After another stint with Blakey from 1964–’65, he worked solely as a frontman.
With Blue Note, Morgan’s largest success was 1963’s Sidewinder, followed by notable albums such as Search For The New Land, Cornbread and Delightfulee. In addition to his frontman work, Morgan appeared as a sideman on classic jazz albums such as Gillespie’s Night In Tunisia, Blakey’s Moanin’, John Coltrane’s Blue Trane, Grachan Moncur’s Evolutionand dates for others, including Curtis Fuller, Philly Joe Jones, Wynton Kelly, Clifford Jordan, Hank Mobley and Wayne Shorter.
Morgan’s death, at only 33, has its place in jazz lore. A girlfriend of his at the time, Helen More, shot him on the stage of the New York City nightclub Slug’s on Feb. 19, 1972. After the two had an argument, More left the club, returned with a gun and shot him in the heart. Morgan died on the spot.
In 1991, Morgan was inducted by the Readers into the Down Beat Hall of Fame.
Lee Morgan music at Amazon
