Lee Morgan
Encyclopedia
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop
trumpeter.
Lee Morgan, a leading trumpeter and composer, recorded prolifically from 1956 until a day before his death in February 1972. Originally interested in the vibraphone
, he soon showed a growing enthusiasm for the trumpet. On his thirteenth birthday, his sister Ernestine gave him his first trumpet. His primary stylistic influence was Clifford Brown
, who gave the teenager a few lessons before he joined the Dizzy Gillespie
Big Band at 18, and remained a member for a year and a half, until economics forced Dizzy to disband the unit in 1958. He began recording for Blue Note Records
in 1956, eventually recording 25 albums as a leader for the company, with more than 250 musicians. He also recorded on the Vee-Jay
label.
He was a featured sideman on several early Hank Mobley
records, as well as on John Coltrane
's Blue Train
(1957), on which he played a trumpet with an angled bell (given to him by Gillespie) and delivered one of his most celebrated solos on the title track.
Joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1958 further developed his talent as a soloist and composer. He toured with Blakey for a few years, and was featured on numerous albums by the Messengers, including Moanin'
, which is one of the band's best-known recordings. When Benny Golson
left the Jazz Messengers, Morgan persuaded Blakey to hire Wayne Shorter
, a young tenor saxophonist, to fill the chair. This version of the Jazz Messengers, including pianist Bobby Timmons
and bassist Jymie Merritt
, would record the classic The Freedom Rider
album. The drug problems of Morgan and Timmons forced them to leave the band in 1961, and the trumpeter returned to Philadelphia, his hometown. According to Tom Perchard, a Morgan biographer, it was Blakey who introduced the trumpeter to heroin, an addictive drug that impeded his career trajectory.
On returning to New York in 1963, he recorded The Sidewinder
(1963), which became his greatest commercial success. The title track cracked the pop charts in 1964, and served as the background theme for Chrysler
television commercials during the World Series
. The tune was used without Morgan's or Blue Note's consent, and intercession by the label's lawyers led to the commercial being withdrawn. Due to the crossover success of "The Sidewinder" in a rapidly changing pop music market, Blue Note owners encouraged other of its artists to emulate the tune's "boogaloo
" beat. Morgan himself repeated the formula several times with compositions such as "Cornbread" (from the eponymous album Cornbread
) and "Yes I Can, No You Can't" on The Gigolo
. According to drummer Billy Hart
, Morgan said he had recorded "The Sidewinder" as filler for the album, and was bemused that it had turned into his biggest hit. He felt that his playing was much more advanced on Grachan Moncur III
's essentially avant-garde Evolution album, recorded a month earlier, on November 21, 1963.
After this commercial success, Morgan continued to record prolifically, producing such works as Search for the New Land
(1964), which reached the top 20 of the R&B charts. He also briefly rejoined the Jazz Messengers after his successor, Freddie Hubbard
, joined another group. Together with John Gilmore
, this lineup was filmed by the BBC for seminal jazz television program Jazz 625.
As the 60's progressed, he recorded some twenty additional albums as a leader, and continued to record as a sideman on the albums of other artists, including Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer
; Stanley Turrentine
's Mr. Natural; Freddie Hubbard
's The Night of the Cookers
; Hank Mobley's Dippin'
, A Caddy for Daddy
, A Slice of the Top
, Straight No Filter
; Jackie McLean
's Jackknife and Consequence; Joe Henderson
's Mode for Joe
; McCoy Tyner
's Tender Moments
; Lonnie Smith
's Think and Turning Point; Elvin Jones
' The Prime Element; Jack Wilson
's Easterly Winds; Reuben Wilson
's Love Bug; Larry Young's Mother Ship; Lee Morgan and Clifford Jordan Live in Baltimore 1968; Andrew Hill
's Grass Roots; as well as on several albums with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
He became more politically involved in the last two years of his life, becoming one of the leaders of the Jazz and People's Movement. The group demonstrated during the taping of talk and variety shows during 1970-71 to protest the lack of jazz artists as guest performers and members of the programs' bands. His working band during those last years featured reedmen Billy Harper
or Bennie Maupin
, pianist Harold Mabern
, bassist Jymie Merritt and drummers Mickey Roker
or Freddie Waits
. Maupin, Mabern, Merritt and Roker are featured on the well-regarded 3-disc, Live at the Lighthouse, recorded during a two-week engagement at the Hermosa Beach club, California, in July 1970.
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
trumpeter.
Biography
Edward Lee Morgan was born in Philadelphia on July 10, 1938, the youngest of Otto Ricardo and Nettie Beatrice Morgan's four children.Lee Morgan, a leading trumpeter and composer, recorded prolifically from 1956 until a day before his death in February 1972. Originally interested in the vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, he soon showed a growing enthusiasm for the trumpet. On his thirteenth birthday, his sister Ernestine gave him his first trumpet. His primary stylistic influence was Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
, who gave the teenager a few lessons before he joined the Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
Big Band at 18, and remained a member for a year and a half, until economics forced Dizzy to disband the unit in 1958. He began recording for Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
in 1956, eventually recording 25 albums as a leader for the company, with more than 250 musicians. He also recorded on the Vee-Jay
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
label.
He was a featured sideman on several early Hank Mobley
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
records, as well as on John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
's Blue Train
Blue Train (album)
Blue Train is a hard bop jazz album by John Coltrane, released in 1957 on Blue Note Records, catalogue BLP 1577. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, it is Coltrane's second solo album, the only one he recorded for Blue Note as a leader, and the only one he conceived...
(1957), on which he played a trumpet with an angled bell (given to him by Gillespie) and delivered one of his most celebrated solos on the title track.
Joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1958 further developed his talent as a soloist and composer. He toured with Blakey for a few years, and was featured on numerous albums by the Messengers, including Moanin'
Moanin'
Moanin' is a jazz album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, recorded in 1958.This was Blakey's first album for Blue Note in several years, after a period of recording for a miscellany of labels, and marked both a homecoming and a fresh start...
, which is one of the band's best-known recordings. When Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
left the Jazz Messengers, Morgan persuaded Blakey to hire Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
, a young tenor saxophonist, to fill the chair. This version of the Jazz Messengers, including pianist Bobby Timmons
Bobby Timmons
Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an African American jazz pianist and composer.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his...
and bassist Jymie Merritt
Jymie Merritt
Jymie Merritt is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he has worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues. He has worked with Bull Moose Jackson, B. B...
, would record the classic The Freedom Rider
The Freedom Rider
The Freedom Rider is an album by jazz drummer Art Blakey and his group the Jazz Messengers. Continuing Blakey's distinct brand of hard bop, this album features contributions from Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Blakey himself, and Kenny Dorham, a former Jazz Messenger...
album. The drug problems of Morgan and Timmons forced them to leave the band in 1961, and the trumpeter returned to Philadelphia, his hometown. According to Tom Perchard, a Morgan biographer, it was Blakey who introduced the trumpeter to heroin, an addictive drug that impeded his career trajectory.
On returning to New York in 1963, he recorded The Sidewinder
The Sidewinder
The Sidewinder is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood, New Jersey. It was released on Blue Note label as BLP 4157 and BST 84157. The title track was one of the defining recordings of the soul jazz genre, becoming a jazz standard. An edited version...
(1963), which became his greatest commercial success. The title track cracked the pop charts in 1964, and served as the background theme for Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
television commercials during the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. The tune was used without Morgan's or Blue Note's consent, and intercession by the label's lawyers led to the commercial being withdrawn. Due to the crossover success of "The Sidewinder" in a rapidly changing pop music market, Blue Note owners encouraged other of its artists to emulate the tune's "boogaloo
Boogaloo
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance that was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City among teenage Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other groups. The style was a fusion of popular African American R&B and soul with mambo and son montuno...
" beat. Morgan himself repeated the formula several times with compositions such as "Cornbread" (from the eponymous album Cornbread
Cornbread (album)
Cornbread is an jazz album by trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1966. It features performances by Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Billy Higgins, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley and Larry Ridley.-Track listing:...
) and "Yes I Can, No You Can't" on The Gigolo
The Gigolo
The Gigolo is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on June 25 & July 1, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Harold Mabern, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins....
. According to drummer Billy Hart
Billy Hart
William "Billy" Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history.-Biography:Early on Hart performed in Washington, D.C...
, Morgan said he had recorded "The Sidewinder" as filler for the album, and was bemused that it had turned into his biggest hit. He felt that his playing was much more advanced on Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
's essentially avant-garde Evolution album, recorded a month earlier, on November 21, 1963.
After this commercial success, Morgan continued to record prolifically, producing such works as Search for the New Land
Search for the New Land
Search for the New Land is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan. A hard bop set with a group of well-known jazz musicians, Search for the New Land was recorded before The Sidewinder was released and is considered more abstract than its popular predecessor...
(1964), which reached the top 20 of the R&B charts. He also briefly rejoined the Jazz Messengers after his successor, Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, joined another group. Together with John Gilmore
John Gilmore (musician)
John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
, this lineup was filmed by the BBC for seminal jazz television program Jazz 625.
As the 60's progressed, he recorded some twenty additional albums as a leader, and continued to record as a sideman on the albums of other artists, including Wayne Shorter's Night Dreamer
Night Dreamer
Night Dreamer is an album by Wayne Shorter, recorded and released in 1964. It was Shorter's debut on Blue Note. With a quintet that includes trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones, Shorter performed six of his originals on this April 29 session.In...
; Stanley Turrentine
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
's Mr. Natural; Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
's The Night of the Cookers
The Night of the Cookers
The Night of the Cookers is a live album by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard recorded at Club La Marchal in April 1965 and released on the Blue Note label. It features performances by Hubbard, Lee Morgan, James Spaulding, Harold Mabern, Jr., Larry Ridley, Pete LaRoca and Big Black...
; Hank Mobley's Dippin'
Dippin'
Dippin' is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1965.-Track listing:# "The Dip" - 7:54# "Recado Bossa Nova" - 8:09# "The Break Through" - 5:49# "The Vamp" - 8:19...
, A Caddy for Daddy
A Caddy for Daddy
- Track listing :*Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 18, 1965- Personnel :* Hank Mobley — tenor saxophone* Curtis Fuller — trombone* Lee Morgan — trumpet* McCoy Tyner — piano* Bob Cranshaw — bass* Billy Higgins — drums...
, A Slice of the Top
A Slice of the Top
- Track listing :# "Hank's Other Bag" – 7:12# "There's a Lull in My Life" – 5:25# "Cute 'N Pretty" – 7:36# "Touch of Blue" – 8:46...
, Straight No Filter
Straight No Filter
Straight No Filter is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label. It features performances recorded at four different sessions from 1963 to 1966.-Reception:...
; Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
's Jackknife and Consequence; Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
's Mode for Joe
Mode for Joe
Mode for Joe is the fifth studio album by American jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson, recorded and released in 1966. It would be the last Blue Note studio album to feature Henderson as a leader.- Track listing :...
; McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
's Tender Moments
Tender Moments
Tender Moments is the eighth album by jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and his second released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded in December 1967 and features performances by Tyner with Lee Morgan, Julian Priester, Bob Northern, Howard Johnson, James Spaulding, Bennie Maupin, Herbie Lewis, and Joe...
; Lonnie Smith
Lonnie Smith
Lonnie Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He made his debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on September 2, 1978 and later played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles...
's Think and Turning Point; Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
' The Prime Element; Jack Wilson
Jack Wilson (jazz pianist)
Jack Wilson was an American jazz pianist and composer.-Early life:Wilson was born in Chicago on August 3, 1936, moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana at age seven. From 1949-54, he studied piano with Carl Atkinson at the Fort Wayne College of Music...
's Easterly Winds; Reuben Wilson
Reuben Wilson
Reuben Wilson is a jazz organist. He performs soul jazz and acid jazz, and is best known for his title track "Got To Get Your Own"He was born in Mounds, Oklahoma and his family moved to Pasadena when he was 5....
's Love Bug; Larry Young's Mother Ship; Lee Morgan and Clifford Jordan Live in Baltimore 1968; Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill
Andrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
's Grass Roots; as well as on several albums with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
He became more politically involved in the last two years of his life, becoming one of the leaders of the Jazz and People's Movement. The group demonstrated during the taping of talk and variety shows during 1970-71 to protest the lack of jazz artists as guest performers and members of the programs' bands. His working band during those last years featured reedmen Billy Harper
Billy Harper
Billy Harper is a Jazz saxophonist, "one of a generation of Coltrane-influenced tenor saxophonists" with a distinctively stern, hard-as-nails sound on his instrument.-Biography:...
or Bennie Maupin
Bennie Maupin
Bennie Maupin is a Detroit Michigan jazz multireedist. He performs on various saxophones, flute and bass clarinet.He is probably best known for his participation in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi sextet and Headhunters band, and for performing on Miles Davis's seminal fusion record, Bitches Brew...
, pianist Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern is a hard bop and soul jazz pianist.Early in his career, Mabern played in Chicago with Walter Perkins' MJT + 3 in the late 1950s before moving to New York in 1959. Mabern has worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet , Donald Byrd, Miles Davis , J. J...
, bassist Jymie Merritt and drummers Mickey Roker
Mickey Roker
Granville "Mickey" Roker is an American jazz drummer. Roker was born into extreme poverty in Miami to Granville and Willie Mae Roker...
or Freddie Waits
Freddie Waits
Freddie Douglas Waits was a hard bop and post-bop drummer.He was a member of Max Roach's M'Boom percussion orchestra....
. Maupin, Mabern, Merritt and Roker are featured on the well-regarded 3-disc, Live at the Lighthouse, recorded during a two-week engagement at the Hermosa Beach club, California, in July 1970.
Death
Morgan was murdered in the early hours of February 19, 1972, at Slugs', a jazz club in New York City's East Village where his band was performing. Following an altercation between sets, Morgan's common-law wife Helen More (a.k.a. Morgan), shot him in the chest onstage, killing him within moments. He was 33 years old. According to an eye witness, Miss More (13 years his senior) walked out of the club just before the last set. She returned and the band was already on stage. Lee was trying to get up there, but was talking with some people. He just started to get up the stage, when she entered and called his name. He turned around and she shot him in the heart. She then turned the gun on the club's doorman Ernie Holman, who grabbed her wrist and took the gun away from her. She started to scream "Baby, what have I done?" and ran to him. She was later arrested, tried, sentenced, and paroled by 1978. Soon after, Helen Morgan returned to her native North Carolina. Reportedly she never spoke publicly of the incident, until she granted an interview a month before her death. She died in Wilmington, NC, from a heart condition, in March 1996. Helen Morgan was 69.Discography
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Morgan Indeed! Lee Morgan Indeed! Lee Morgan Indeed! is the debut album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label in 1956. It was recorded on November 4, 1956 and features performances by Morgan, Clarence Sharpe, Horace Silver, Wilbur Ware and Philly Joe Jones.... |
1956 | Blue Note | ||
| Introducing Lee Morgan Introducing Lee Morgan Introducing Lee Morgan is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan with Hank Mobley's quintet released on the Savoy label. It was recorded on November 5 & 7 1956 and features performances by Morgan with Hank Mobley, Hank Jones, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor.... |
1956 | Savoy | ||
| Lee Morgan Sextet Lee Morgan Sextet Lee Morgan Sextet is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label in 1957. It was recorded on December 2, 1956 and features performances by Morgan, Hank Mobley, Kenny Rogers, Horace Silver, Paul Chambers and Charlie Persip... |
1957 | Blue Note | ||
| Lee Morgan Vol. 3 Lee Morgan Vol. 3 Lee Morgan Vol. 3 is the third album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note. It was recorded on March 24, 1957 and features performances by Morgan, Gigi Gryce, Benny Golson, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Charlie Persip... |
1957 | Blue Note | ||
| City Lights City Lights (Lee Morgan album) City Lights is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label in 1957. It was recorded on August 25, 1957 and features performances by Morgan, Curtis Fuller, George Coleman, Ray Bryant, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor.-Reception:... |
1957 | Blue Note | ||
| The Cooker The Cooker The Cooker is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1958 as BLP 1578. It was recorded on September 29, 1957 and features Morgan, Pepper Adams, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.-Reception:... |
1957 | Blue Note | ||
| Candy Candy (Lee Morgan album) Candy is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on November 18, 1957 and features performances by Morgan, Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor.-Reception:... |
1957 | Blue Note | ||
| Here's Lee Morgan Here's Lee Morgan Here's Lee Morgan is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan originally released on the Vee-Jay label. It was recorded on February 8, 1960 and features performances by Morgan with Clifford Jordan, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.-Reception:... |
1960 | Vee-Jay | ||
| The Young Lions The Young Lions (band) The Young Lions were a jazz ensemble consisting of Lee Morgan, Frank Strozier, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, Bob Cranshaw, Louis Hayes, and Albert "Tootie" Heath. They released one album in 1960 for Vee Jay Records.... |
1960 | Vee-Jay | ||
| Expoobident Expoobident Expoobident is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan originally released on the Vee-Jay label. It was recorded on October 14, 1960 and features performances by Morgan with Clifford Jordan, Eddie Higgins, Art Davis and Art Blakey.-Reception:... |
1960 | Vee-Jay | ||
| Lee-Way Lee-Way Leeway is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 28, 1960 and features performances by Morgan with Jackie McLean, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.... |
1960 | Blue Note | ||
| Take Twelve Take Twelve Take Twelve is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan originally released on the Jazzland label. It was recorded on January 24, 1962 and features performances by Morgan with Clifford Jordan, Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw and Louis Hayes.-Reception:... |
1962 | Jazzland | ||
| The Sidewinder The Sidewinder The Sidewinder is a 1964 album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood, New Jersey. It was released on Blue Note label as BLP 4157 and BST 84157. The title track was one of the defining recordings of the soul jazz genre, becoming a jazz standard. An edited version... |
1963 | Blue Note | ||
| Search for the New Land Search for the New Land Search for the New Land is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan. A hard bop set with a group of well-known jazz musicians, Search for the New Land was recorded before The Sidewinder was released and is considered more abstract than its popular predecessor... |
1964 | Blue Note | ||
| Tom Cat Tom Cat (album) Tom Cat is an album by Lee Morgan recorded in 1964, though not released until 1981. It was originally released as LT 1058, and issued with several other catalogue numbers ever since... |
1964 | Blue Note | ||
| The Rumproller The Rumproller The Rumproller is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 21, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with Joe Henderson, Ronnie Mathews, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins.-Reception:... |
1965 | Blue Note | ||
| The Gigolo The Gigolo The Gigolo is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on June 25 & July 1, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Harold Mabern, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins.... |
1965 | Blue Note | ||
| Cornbread Cornbread (album) Cornbread is an jazz album by trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1966. It features performances by Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Billy Higgins, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley and Larry Ridley.-Track listing:... |
1965 | Blue Note | ||
| Infinity Infinity (Lee Morgan album) Infinity is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on November 16, 1965 but not released until 1980 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Jackie McLean, Larry Willis, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins.-Reception:The Allmusic... |
1965 | Blue Note | ||
| Delightfulee Delightfulee Delightfulee is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 8 & May 27, 1966 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins and a big band featuring Ernie Royal, Tom... |
1966 | Blue Note | ||
| Charisma Charisma (album) Charisma is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on September 29, 1966 and features performances by Morgan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Billy Higgins.-Reception:... |
1966 | Blue Note | ||
| The Rajah The Rajah (album) The Rajah is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on November 29, 1966 but not released until 1984 and features performances by Morgan, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Billy Higgins.... |
1966 | Blue Note | ||
| Standards Standards (Lee Morgan album) Standards is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on January 13, 1967 but not released until 1998 and features performances by Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, James Spaulding, Pepper Adams and Mickey Roker with... |
1967 | Blue Note | ||
| Sonic Boom Sonic Boom (Lee Morgan album) Sonic Boom is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 14 & 28 1967 with the CD reissue adding tracks recorded on September 12 & October 10, 1969 which were first released on the original double LP edition of The Procrastinator. The album now... |
1967 | Blue Note | ||
| The Procrastinator The Procrastinator The Procrastinator is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on July 14, 1967 and features performances by Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins.-Reception:... |
1967 | Blue Note | ||
| The Sixth Sense | 1967 | Blue Note | ||
| Taru Taru (album) Taru is an album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and released on the Blue Note label. The album features performances by Morgan, Bennie Maupin, John Hicks, George Benson, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins.-Reception:... |
1968 | Blue Note | ||
| Caramba! Caramba! ¡Caramba! is an album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and released on the Blue Note label. The album features performances by Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Cedar Walton, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins with arrangements by Cal Massey.-Reception:... |
1968 | Blue Note | ||
| Live at the Lighthouse | 1970 | Blue Note | ||
| The Last Session The Last Session (album) The Last Session is the final studio album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan before his death in 1972. It was released on the Blue Note label and features performances by Morgan, Grachan Moncur III, Bobbi Humphrey, Billy Harper, Harold Mabern, Reggie Workman, Jymie Merritt and Freddie... |
1971 | Blue Note |
Further reading
- Jeff McMillan "DelightfuLee: The Life and Music of Lee Morgan", 2008, University of Michigan Press
- Tom Perchard Lee Morgan: His Life, Music and Culture, 2006, Equinox
- Thomas, Larry Reni. The Lady Who Shot Lee Morgan (1996)