Happy Jazzy Easter!

Lee Morgan's trumpet playing served as a backdrop to my Easter celebration today. Morgan's tunes, such as "The Sidewinder" and "Speedball," race along on propulsive horn riffs. If my jazz-hating daughters fall asleep to Morgan, it's because they simply aren't paying attention.
Morgan's story begins in 1956, when the Philadelphia trumpeter joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band as an 18-year-old. Within the next decade, Morgan would move from sideman to headliner, producing some wonderfully funky albums for blue note. The electrifying "Sidewinder," from 1964, even became a hit.
Eight years later, though, tragedy struck when Morgan was shot and killed following a nightclub dispute. Morgan death at age 34 robbed music fans of a true great.
Posted by Hello