Customer Reviews

Delightfulee: The Life and Music of Lee Morgan (Jazz Perspectives)

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The author is to be highly congratulated for putting together this excellent biography. Obviously, this was a labor of love. The author did far reaching original research thru personal interviews and other sources. The effort paid off. The book traces Lee from high school in Philadelphia where at about age 13 he started learning the vibes. Before long he moved to the trumpet. And he was a very quick learner. He played around locally and by age 17 or 18 was a soloist in Dizzy Gillespie's big band. He became a participant in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Being featured in groups that had Hank Mobley and Bobby Timmons as well as Wayne Shorter and Walter Davis,Jr. The Jazz Messengers of the late 1950's and early 1960's were tremendously exciting. Lee led the way with his fiery,exuberant,unique style.He could be counted on to regularly play his best night after night until his drug use took over and his lip began to deteriorate due to lack of continued practice. There seems to be a consensus among some critics and musicians that Lee wanted to grow into something else musically. Perhaps. But, personally I will always cherish his days as a Jazz Messenger. His unique exciting, powerful, facility were virtually incomparable.The author discusses many of Lee's albums and his life right up till that terrible night at Slug's in February 1972 at 243 E. 3rd St. By the way, Tom Lord's authoritative discography lists 188 sessions that Lee participated in. Reading this book makes you feel almost as though you were there for key parts of Lee's life. Tremendous effort by the author

I enjoyed every page of Jeff McMillan's bio on Lee Morgan. Jeff manages to put a face and soul to that era (late 50s thru 80s)of musicians, the 2nd wave of Charlie Parker disciples. The book benefited from the outstanding research job by Jeff. I loved all the references to the Philadelphia musicians, how they started in Philly and later on after they became internationally known artists. I heard Odean Pope with Max Roach years after I heard Lee but I never thought of them coming out of the same environment. This book does a lot of connecting the dots for me on the jazz scene of that era. The book shows that there was a lot of community support, Jazz Interactions, Jazzmobile, Left Bank Jazz, Jim Harrison and others, for the music and muscicans during that time. This book makes a great companion piece to the Miles Davis Quincy Troupe autobio.

This Biography of Lee Morgan by Jeff McMillan is a "Must Read" for any Jazz Trumpeters or Listeners of the Blue Note era. Jeff takes you back to the time period of Morgan growing up in Philadelphia and hangin' with the likes of Jimmy Heath and Wilmer Wise (a Classical Trumpeter) who attended the All-City Band with Morgan. He also sets the scence for when Morgan had his run with Art Blakey and the Jazz messengers and how Blakey helped to light the fire under Morgan's style of improv and really drive the core of his sound and his development as one of the premier Jazz Trumpet players of the Blue Note Era. Check this book out, it's a quick read and you'll not put it down, especially the dramatic end when Helen Moore, Morgan's live in girlfriend goes "Postal" when Lee tells her he's decided to "move on" with his life, and unfortunately her control issues get the best of her and she winds up shooting Lee that fateful night at the ironically named "Slugs" Jazz club in NYC. My ONLY regret?. . . .is NOT being able to have heard Lee Morgan perform live before he died. . . You will not be dissapointed with this amazingly riveting story!!!