Thank you for sharing Bret. I'm a huge Lee Morgan fan. Or was when I was deeply engaged in the music. It's always a treat when your writing brings back those memories.
A few years ago, I was listening to a reissued Lee Morgan CD from this period I had recently bought, and looked at Frank Wolff's candid studio shots. My God, I remember thinking, he was just a kid! And playing like that! What a great artist, and what a tragedy his life ended so early.
Further observations of Lee Morgan's style: flutter tongue, double and triple tongue, slides, growls, loops. I love his looping lines. Trumpet was my first instrument as a kid.
Bret, you have written a brilliant overview of why Lee is so significant in the jazz trumpet lineage, and I can easily imagine anyone reading your piece will quickly locate some Lee Morgan tracks and take a deep dive. I wish I could have heard him in person. He died when I was a Senior in high school.
I’ll have to look into that guy sometime. My only knowledge of him is the Lenny Bruce routine where Dracula complains that Lee Morgan stole all his key men.
This was such a good read. Underrated talent, taken too soon. The Procrastinator was the first of his albums that I bought and it remains my favorite. Guess I need to dive into the full Lighthouse recordings now that it’s “complete.” I know who I’m listening to today.
Bret, lets not forget that an even younger Lee Morgan played on Coltrane's "Blue Train" in Sept '57! and he sounds pretty mature to me on that recording!
Thank you for sharing Bret. I'm a huge Lee Morgan fan. Or was when I was deeply engaged in the music. It's always a treat when your writing brings back those memories.
Good stuff. One of the greats!
fo sure
A few years ago, I was listening to a reissued Lee Morgan CD from this period I had recently bought, and looked at Frank Wolff's candid studio shots. My God, I remember thinking, he was just a kid! And playing like that! What a great artist, and what a tragedy his life ended so early.
My favorite trumpet player. Ever.
Further observations of Lee Morgan's style: flutter tongue, double and triple tongue, slides, growls, loops. I love his looping lines. Trumpet was my first instrument as a kid.
On Music
The most fun my fingers can have is when they
twiddle the keys, fingers going round and round amid
black and white follicles
jungles
of notes like towers
chords like suns
feeling for the right spot
to sit on the right spot
the fingers don’t forget the flowering pleas
to the pleading flowers. Ancient note structures
float in the desert. Across the dunes camel tracks
vanish in the wind.. Nature's heritage from generations
lurching rhythms hustle elbows knees flying.
I’m working on it he says.
mocking the entire enterprise.
I can puff the keys with different parts of my fingers.
A brush to the side of my callused index; a flurry across
the black notes. Hands are wing- like in their facile adaptions.
No disorder survives. Music resolves most of the time
in harmony or obvious discord but it resolves
it doesn’t leave you hanging there wondering
what happened? Did he walk out on stage
and break a bottle over his head?
Remember this always: it takes two bottles over the head
to qualify as music.
Another knock out piece by you Bret about another one of my heroes.
Bret, you have written a brilliant overview of why Lee is so significant in the jazz trumpet lineage, and I can easily imagine anyone reading your piece will quickly locate some Lee Morgan tracks and take a deep dive. I wish I could have heard him in person. He died when I was a Senior in high school.
Great columns like this are the reason I subscribed in the first place!
Thanks!
Thanks for introducing me to another jazz great I have never heard of.
I thought I was out of of Substack. But you jazzheads keep pulling me back in.https://open.spotify.com/track/3iFlfQ0CXc9URaAvai8VUe?si=s8nlM5VARz2G-VN0qeLX3w
I’ll have to look into that guy sometime. My only knowledge of him is the Lenny Bruce routine where Dracula complains that Lee Morgan stole all his key men.
This was such a good read. Underrated talent, taken too soon. The Procrastinator was the first of his albums that I bought and it remains my favorite. Guess I need to dive into the full Lighthouse recordings now that it’s “complete.” I know who I’m listening to today.
Bret, lets not forget that an even younger Lee Morgan played on Coltrane's "Blue Train" in Sept '57! and he sounds pretty mature to me on that recording!
Hangin in the park, Eight track tape playin from my brothah’s “Gangstah Lean”, Lee Morgan, Sidewinder. Sweet memories, great bio on a great musician.
Great stuff, as always. Thanx.