Lee Morgan

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jazz, trumpet, hard bop, bebop, blue note records… see all

Lee Morgan (10 July 1938-19 February 1972) was an American hard-bop jazz trumpeter.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, remaining a member for two years. 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. 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)

The Sidewinder
Lee Morgan
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Search for the New Land
Lee Morgan
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Cornbread
Lee Morgan
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Candy
Lee Morgan
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Top Tracks

1	The Sidewinder full track	763
2	Hocus-Pocus full track	179
2	Totem Pole full track	179
4	Gary's Notebook full track	159
5	Boy, What a Night full track	156
6	Afreaka full track	136
7	Totem Pole (alternate take) full track	95
8	Cornbread full track	92
9	Since I Fell for You full track	75
10	Speedball full track	69
11	Ceora full track	62
12	Search for the New Land full track	53
13	I Remember Clifford full track	47
14	The Rumproller full track	45
15	Mr. Kenyatta full track	43

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Afuera wrote:
last week

pretty great if you ask me.

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SirAlecHendrix wrote:
last month

Lee Morgan—now connected to the brandnew group ➤ Round Midnight

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drkl0pek wrote:
last month

Yeah Search for the New Land is the shit! You've got Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock and Grant Green teamed up to create some incredible music! Check out Tom Cat if you want some more Soul-Jazzy tunes!

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Warrenzzz wrote:
August 2008

The guy is a legend.

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Snowy5555 wrote:
July 2008

The Best!

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ChicharroJazz wrote:
June 2008

One of my favourite trumpet players.

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whatchamacallme wrote:
December 2007

His place on Moanin' is incredible.

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count_schemula wrote:
September 2007

Search for the New Land FTW!

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8thlight wrote:
June 2007

http://www.last.fm/group/The+Juice+Box+Crew

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BilboBigos wrote:
May 2007

Search for the new land is quite nice. Actually it's great, especially after midnight.

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Bobbygillespie wrote:
April 2007

Candy is an awesome tune, everyone should give it a spin.

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thesermon2929 wrote:
December 2006

His solo on Moanin' is one of the best of all time, Lee is the man

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SpoonThe wrote:
September 2006

totem pole = best tune ever. well, maybe the alternate take is better.

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