Lee Morgan Biography

Subscribe on July 10 in Philadelphia the state of Pennsylvania was born Edward Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan - one of the most innovative and bold jazz trumpeters of the 19th of the last century.

Lee Morgan, as we know him, was not only the brightest composer and performer of the Hard-Bop style, but also made a huge contribution to such a musical direction as modal jazz, and also experimented with Free jazz. With a swift and unexpected whirlwind, he burst into the jazz world of the middle of the X, at first deserved the glory of the natural successor of his teacher - the mentioned Clifford Brown in the year, the great trumpeter died in a car accident.

However, Morgan quickly developed his own style, diluting the classic bi-bop motifs with more modern and original rhythms, melodies and harmony. And only the untimely, tragic death from a bullet from the revolver of a jealous friend was able to prevent the development of his creative plans, because if it weren’t for this sad fact, the arrangement of the “figures” on the pedestal of jazz performers of the first magnitude would have been a slightly different ...

Lee had a boy in the ranks of passionate fans of jazz, studying at the vibrophone, gradually giving all his concerns with great passion. The preference of the pipe: from the age of 10 he has been engaged with a private teacher, showing exceptional musical flexibility and huge performing potential. As a result, on the thirteenth birthday from his sister and mother, the young windoderkind received a welcome tool as a gift and continued his studies at Mastbaum High School for the Arts, where he also played on alt-saxophone.

And, in addition, on Tuesday night, he acted as an active participant in creative workshops at Music City City Club, where he intersected in Jem Syeshna with John Koltrane, Benny Golson, Miles Davis, Art Blake and Clifford Brown. In m, as soon as it turned eighteen, he recorded his first two solo albums: “Lee Morgan Indeed! Around the same time, he first appeared as part of the famous Jazz Messengers ensemble, when Art Blacki came to tour in Philadelphia.

And this despite the fact that his career made a new swift, and a very important round: a young nugget came into the view of Dizzy Gillespi, who recently returned from a tour of the countries of South America, and immediately turned for Dizzy almost into a godly son. Once under the wing of such a famous patron, Morgan gained a tremendous experience, transmitted to him along with the mass of soloing capabilities, which he generously distributed to him the maestro recall the brilliant solo of Morgan in the play “A Night in Tunisia” at the festival in the Newport of the year.

This is how the smuggler of Paul West, who played in the orchestra about this: “Lee Morgan and I got to the Gillespi orchestra at the same time. We were real dairy. Lee was eighteen, and I am twenty -one. I think nothing more fantastic, the best could happen to Lee in that era. He was almost a kid, but he was impudent, cheerful and terribly funny. In some ways, he looked like Dizzy in childhood, to a crumb-dizzy.

When he played solo in the famous play “Night in Tunisia”, it was felt that he wanted to be Dizzy himself - an artist, a person. This was different from most young debutants. There was a character in his game, there was his own. And he did not try to show his skill, technical virtuosity, he simply used experience and talent to invest this personal, one thing inherent in him, in the game.

Dizzy did the same. ” Thus, almost a year and a half before his future return to the Blake group Morgan passed a beautiful performing school with Gillespi. He had already managed to appear on several early records of his friend Hank Moble and give a few beautiful solo in John Coltrain’s legendary album “Blue Train”, where he played on a fantastic pipe with a curved bell donated to him.

Morgan was hardly 19 when he began the record “Candy” “Blue Note” - the sixth albums recorded by him on this label. And in m, after Dizzie Gillespi disbanded his orchestra, he toured with the Jazz Messengers mentioned above, putting his hand to one of the most famous albums of the group - “Moanin”. However, soon Morgan suddenly disappeared from the field of view of fans: according to rumors, it was in the Blake team that he first tried heroin.

Inevitably, this circumstance became for him a personal tragedy with all the ensuing consequences, including the forced “failure” in professional activities: in the year he left the group and moved to Philadelphia, where he fought with dependence for two years. In New York, Lee returned to M in the status of the winner of the potion, moreover, with a mass of new ideas and the passionate desire of their speedy realization.

And as a result, the most famous and most famous of all his albums-“The Sidewinder”, whose title track immediately got into American pop charts was born. According to colleagues, Morgan himself was incredibly surprised by such commercial success, believing that, for example, in the album “Evolution”, where he was invited by the thrombonist Grachan Moncur III, he sounded much better.

But one way or another, one circumstance remains unshakable: from the moment of triumphal return, Lee entered his best creative period, recording one memorable album after another. Throughout, he recorded about twenty solo albums, including the magnificent records of Search for the New Land, The Gigolo, Cornbread, Delightfulee, The Pocrastinator, where he was accompanied by musicians such as Herby Hankok, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, and many others.

Throughout his life, whether Morgan wrote down and performed more than the musicians and even despite the coming, from time to time, the obsession of the old heroin addiction, as he could, tried to fight him. Just at that time - in the year - he gathered wonderful musicians in his team, including the multi -instrumentalist Senya Maupin and saxophonist Billy Harper, pianist Garold Mabern, smuggler Jimmy Merritt and drummers Miki Roker and Freddy Jet.

And in this composition, the trumpeter was recorded by the magnificent concert album “Live At the Lighthouse”, in which the shades of modal jazz became more and more clearly, despite the fact that the heart of a hard-bop trumpeter beat in Morgan’s chest. Lee Morgan was only 33 years old, when his pipe fell silent, which became one of the greatest tragedies in the history of jazz.

But the greatest power of his voice, then elegant and light, then assertive and impudent, is so unique in beauty of his intonations, which still excites the imagination of the unpredictable turns of the plot lines that are not destined to be interrupted ....