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Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 - February 19, 1972) was a hard bop trumpeter who by the age of 18 was already leading accomplished musicians on albums such as Presenting Lee Morgan and The Cooker. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Morgan was a jazz prodigy, joining the Dizzy Gillespie big band at 18, and shortly thereafter signing a contract with Blue Note Records. Beginning in 1957, he recorded several albums as a leader, as he began to develop his own hard bop conception. 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 the album "Moanin'" which is probably Blakey's best known recording.
When Benny Golson left the Jazz Messengers, Lee encouraged Blakey to hire Wayne Shorter, a young tenor saxophonist, to fill the chair. Wayne stayed with the Messengers for a few years before signing his own Blue Note contract and eventually joining the Miles Davis group of the mid- to late-60s. Morgan is best known for his work for Blue Note Records in which he was leader for 25 albums, including his famous album, The Sidewinder which was a pop hit in 1964, the title track of which was on the pop charts in 1964 and served as the backgroud theme for Chrysler commercials during the World Series. "The Sidewinder"'s crossover success in a rapidly changing popular music market caused Blue Note to rush the "Boogaloo" sound to market. This is evidenced in the mid-60s output of many Blue Note stars, including Morgan, and some of the lesser artists in the stable.
Helen More, who was Morgan's erstwhile common-law wife, shot Morgan to death following an argument as he was relaxing between sets at Slug's, a popular New York City jazz club.
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