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Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan's principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown's premature death.
He was also a featured sideman on several early Hank Mobley records, and John Coltrane's Blue Train. On the latter LP, he even played a bent-up horn like Gillespie's. Joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1958 further developed his talent as a soloist and writer. He toured with Blakey for a few years, and was featured on Moanin, which is probably Blakey's best known recording. When Benny Golson left the Jazz Messengers, Morgan persuaded Blakey to hire Wayne Shorter, a young tenor saxophonist, to fill the chair. This classic version of the Jazz Messengers, including Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt would record the classic The Freedom Rider album.
Morgan tried to move in to the more advanced areas of the music in the early 1960s. He left the Jazz Messengers in 1961, struggling with heroin addiction, managing to kick his habit in his hometown. He returned to the music scene after a two-year absence, playing on Grachan Moncur III's essentially avant-garde Evolution album (his favourite work), and experimenting on some of his own recordings such as the title track of Search for the New Land (1964), but the popularity of his famous album, The Sidewinder, featuring Joe Henderson precluded his career developing in this way.
The title track of that record cracked the pop charts in 1964 and served as the background theme for Chrysler commercials during the World Series. The Sidewinder's crossover success in a rapidly changing pop music market caused Blue Note to rush the track's "Boogaloo" sound to market. This is evidenced in the mid-60s output of many Blue Note stars, including Morgan, and some of the lesser artists in the stable, releasing albums with modified and rythmically punchy blues tracks, such as "Yes I Can, No You Can't" on Morgan's own The Gigolo. In 1964 Morgan rejoined the Jazz Messengers, after his successor Freddie Hubbard departed, which had now become a sextet with the addition of Curtis Fuller to the group.
Alongside this commercial success, Morgan continued to record prolifically, producing such works as Search For the New Land which reached the top 20 of the R&B charts. His work became increasingly more modal and free towards the end of the sixties. He had begun to lead his own group, featuring Bernie Maupin as a multi-reedist.
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Back In The Groove: Material Matters
by Tarik Townsend
An aspect of jazz that is often overlooked is the material. That is, the very tunes that the musicians are performing. Arguably more important than the key or the tempo, the song itself dictates where the musician's inspiration will go, and even that isn't always a sure thing. They're a launching pad and an indicator of an artist's imagination. The material can also lead the players into some fascinating places normally not tread by anyone else--including themselves. Some recent records ...
read moreTop Ten Lee Morgan Recordings
by Jason Innocent
These albums represent a diverse range of Lee Morgan's musical output and showcase his virtuosity, innovation, and contribution to jazz trumpet. The Sidewinder Blue Note Records 1963 Morgan's most famous and commercially successful release is this album. It features the catchy title track, which became a major hit and is now considered a jazz standard. Cornbread Blue Note Records 1965 This album showcases Morgan's exceptional ...
read moreThe Blue Note Label
by Jerome Wilson
This show, from July 2021, covers two hours worth of the extensive legacy of the Blue Note record label, examining some of the label's rich past as well as its present. The program goes all the way from Lee Morgan and Bud Powell to Joel Ross and Ambrose Akinmusire. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Thelonious Monk “In Walked ...
read moreDefinitive Article Lee
by Patrick Burnette
Many moons ago on Episode 95 we did an podcast devoted to Freddie Hubbard, so in honor of the new Complete at the Lighthouse release, we thought it was time to do one for Lee Morgan But not to discuss Live at the Lighthouse because that's the way we roll. (Look me up on Facebook if you have questions about that release). We survey the trumpet master's brutally truncated career and ponder what might have been while enjoying one of ...
read moreHard Bop: Ten Essential Live Albums
by Chris May
"Fire! That's what people want. Music is supposed to wash away the dust of everyday life. You're supposed to make them turn around, pat their feet. That's what jazz is about. Play with fire. Play from the heart, not from your brain. You got to know how to make the two meet." So said drummer and hard bop pioneer Art Blakey in an interview with David Rosenthal in the 1980s. To which his partner in funk, the ...
read moreJoe Henderson: The Complete Joe Henderson Blue Note Studio Sessions
by Scott Gudell
If an artist stamps his jazz passport with any one of these labels--Blue Note, Verve, Milestone--it's pretty much a guarantee that you've arrived in style. Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson has traveled with all three and more. The 2021 reissue from the prestigious Mosaic Records focuses on Henderson's 1960s tenure with Blue Note offers a new opportunity to experience an abundance of rich and creative jazz from the decade. Big band and bop were duking it out in the ...
read moreArt Blakey & The Jazz Messengers: First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings
by Mike Jurkovic
Perhaps Art Blakey's greatest gift was that he was able to—and also enabled you—to transport through time to when invention was new and not reheated, rebranded, or far worse, rejected out of hand. Just take his opening solo on the Charlie Parker-penned opener “Now's the Time" from the absolutely ribald and raucous First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings and get a riotous earful for yourself. Blakey bops, pops, and booms and you're there in the room in Tokyo, ...
read moreDocumentary: Lee Morgan: I Called Him Morgan
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Lee Morgan is still not fully appreciated for all of the music he left behind and how he changed the sound of the trumpet. The glorious way he bent notes and tore into solos with economy and fervor became a fingerprint of sorts. He first stood out as a purposeful hard-bop player in Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers and then recorded a long string of superb albums as a leader for Blue Note. In 2016, Kasper Collin, a Swedish ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Lee Morgan
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Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lee Morgan's birthday today!
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan's principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown's premature death. He was also a featured sideman on several early Hank ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Lee Morgan
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lee Morgan's birthday today!
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan's principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown's premature death. He was also a featured sideman on several early Hank ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Lee Morgan
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lee Morgan's birthday today!
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan's principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown's premature death. He was also a featured sideman on several early Hank ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Lee Morgan
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lee Morgan's birthday today!
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan's principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown's premature death. He was also a featured sideman on several early Hank ...
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Four Lee Morgan Videos
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Lee Morgan was a fluid burner. His trumpet could be fleshy and warm on ballads and sharp and darting on up-tempo songs. His staccato-like lines grabbed your attention, but he resisted making the instrument sizzle by pouring too much heat into his notes. His edge was an ingredient, not a means to and end. Here's Lee Morgan playing Bobby Timmons' Moanin’ on Canadian TV in July 1959... Here's Lee Morgan and Horace Silver in the early 1970s. Apologies for the ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Lee Morgan
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lee Morgan's birthday today!
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan\'s principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown\'s premature death... Read more.
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Electrifying Track: Heavy Dipper
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
In September 1957, trumpeter Lee Morgan recorded his album The Cooker with baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Heavy Dipper is a Morgan original. It's a light, high-stepping tune that alternates between minor and major keys and has plenty of snap. Everyone in the quintet gets a chance to solo. This was a rare pairing of Morgan and Adams, who recorded most often with trumpeter Donald Byrd. Interestingly, Morgan, Chambers and ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Lee Morgan
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Lee Morgan's birthday today!
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. Beginning in 1956, he began recording as a leader, mainly for the Blue Note label, eventually he recorded twenty-five albums for the company. Morgan\'s principal influence as a player was Clifford Brown, having had direct contact with him before Brown\'s premature death... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Lee Morgan
Instrument: Trumpet
Born: July 10, 1938
Died: February 19, 1972
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