Lee Morgan

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风格: #硬波普　#调式爵士　#主流爵士　#灵魂爵士
地区: United States of America 美国

艺人介绍

Lee Morgan 是60年代BlueNote唱片公司的最出色的小号手之一，他的小号演奏可以说集合了Dizzy Gillespie的熟练精密以及Miles Davis 的灵气。1938年出生的他在15岁开始接触爵士乐，那时咆哮乐已成为爵士乐界的主流音乐。1956年加入Dizzy Gillespie的咆哮大乐团，1958年成为Art Blakey领导下的爵士信差中的一员。当离开爵士信差独立发展时开始形成自己的风格。1963年到纽约发展并拥有自己的乐队，为 BlueNote唱片公司录制了《The Sidewinder》，继而在1965年推出的《The Rumproller》，均有不错的销量。在之前Lee Morgan 作为乐队的伴奏，曾在很多经典的名曲中出现，象Dizzy Gillespie的"Night In Tunisia"、Art Blakey的"Moanin"、John Coltrane的"Blue Trane"等等。

《Caramba》是集中了Lee Morgan生平的小号演奏技术的出色唱片，当时的他才29岁，但已经是专门录制硬咆哮的Blue Note唱片公司代表人物。《Caramba》里面有这么一段文字，大意是："最近我为一位并非搞音乐的朋友播放一段录音，他首先评论道：'这小号手确实吹出了不俗的声音。'然后说：'他的乐句很好，知道如何运用空间'。录音结束后，朋友的脸上露出赏识的笑容：'当然！这是Lee Morgan！"作为60年代这个盛行硬咆哮乐的年代，无庸置疑，Lee Morgan是这个时代的代表人物，他独具个性的音乐语言，每个音符都仿佛烙下难以磨灭的情感。Track 2 "Suicide City"在《Caramba》中显得尤其突出，典型的咆哮速度和Cedar Walton颇为低沉而清晰的钢琴伴奏下似乎在暗示着这个霓虹璀璨的城市背后不可名状的孤寂，这种感觉一直延续到Track 3"Cunning Lee",仿佛有着一种不可分割的联系，那种发自灵魂深处的侵蚀性彻底表露无遗。Cedar Walton的琴声在Track 4"Soulita"中显得甚为干脆，小号仿佛已经不再是乐器，细微的质感足以反映出Lee Morgan的才华，Track 4"Helen's Ritual"也是如此。

《Caramba》的重磅当然是Track 1标题曲"Caramba"，12分钟的扩展伴奏把这支五重奏（除了Lee Morgan和钢琴手Cedar Walton还包括中音萨克斯手Bennie Maupin、低音提琴手Reggie Workman、鼓手Billy Higgins）的默契充分展现了出来。Track 6"A Baby's Smile"是一首赠曲，音乐变得舒缓起来，Lee Morgan除了对硬咆哮乐的精湛，而且对Ballads也有一手，难怪一位不太喜欢硬咆哮乐的朋友曾说过他最喜欢Lee Morgan的这个演绎，浪漫的情感在小号下倾泄而出。

《Caramba》的发行时间是1968年5月，一个月后，黑人民主运动领袖Martin Luther King（马丁·路德·金）在一场政治风波中离奇被暗杀，或许这是一个预示，四年后Lee Morgan也被一颗子弹穿过心脏，当时他在纽约城市夜总会演出，由于事前和女友Helen More有过不愉快的争执，Helen More离开俱乐部后返回并带来了一支手枪，终于结束了Lee Morgan的生命，结束了他短暂而灿烂的一生，那是1972年2月19日。正如8年后John Lennon复出时被自己的歌迷枪杀一样，这是音乐中的最大悲剧，想到此，唏嘘感慨不禁在我心底象虫子一般噬咬起来，我继续看着车窗外的霓虹城市，想着"Suicide City"，但此时感觉却痛快不起来了。

by Steve Huey

A cornerstone of the Blue Note label roster prior to his tragic demise, Lee Morgan was one of hard bops greatest trumpeters, and indeed one of the finest of the 60s. An all-around master of his instrument modeled after Clifford Brown, Morgan boasted an effortless, virtuosic technique and a full, supple, muscular tone that was just as powerful in the high register. His playing was always emotionally charged, regardless of the specific mood: cocky and exuberant on up-tempo groovers, blistering on bop-oriented technical showcases, sweet and sensitive on ballads. In his early days as a teen prodigy, Morgan was a busy soloist with a taste for long, graceful lines, and honed his personal style while serving an apprenticeship in Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers. As his original compositions began to take in elements of blues and R&B, he made greater use of space and developed an infectiously funky rhythmic sense. He also found ways to mimic human vocal inflections by stuttering, slurring his articulations, and employing half-valved sound effects. Toward the end of his career, Morgan was increasingly moving into modal music and free bop, hinting at the avant-garde but remaining grounded in tradition. He had already overcome a severe drug addiction, but sadly, he would not live to continue his musical growth; he was shot to death by his common-law wife in 1972.Edward Lee Morgan was born in Philadelphia on July 10, 1938. He grew up a jazz lover, and his sister apparently gave him his first trumpet at age 14. He took private lessons, developing rapidly, and continued his studies at Mastbaum High School. By the time he was 15, he was already performing professionally on the weekends, co-leading a group with bassist Spanky DeBrest. Morgan also participated in weekly workshops that gave him the chance to meet the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and his idol Clifford Brown. After graduating from high school in 1956, Morgan — along with DeBrest — got the chance to perform with Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers when they swung through Philadelphia. Not long after, Dizzy Gillespie hired Morgan to replace Joe Gordon in his big band, and afforded the talented youngster plenty of opportunities to solo, often spotlighting him on the Gillespie signature piece A Night in Tunisia. Clifford Browns death in a car crash in June 1956 sparked a search for his heir apparent, and the precocious Morgan seemed a likely candidate to many; accordingly, he soon found himself in great demand as a recording artist. His first session as a leader was cut for Blue Note in November 1956, and over the next few months he recorded for Savoy and Specialty as well, often working closely with Hank Mobley or Benny Golson. Later in 1957, he performed as a sideman on John Coltranes classic Blue Train, as well as with Jimmy Smith.Morgans early sessions showed him to be a gifted technician who had his influences down pat, but subsequent dates found him coming into his own as a distinctive, original stylist. That was most apparent on the Blue Note classic Candy, a warm standards album completed in 1958 and released to great acclaim. Still only 19, Morgans playing was still imbued with youthful enthusiasm, but he was also synthesizing his influences into an original sound of his own. Also in 1958, Gillespies big band broke up, and Morgan soon joined the third version of Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers, which debuted on the classic Moanin album later that year. As a leader, Morgan recorded a pair of albums for Vee Jay in 1960, Heres Lee Morgan and Expoobident, and cut another for Blue Note that year, Leeway, with backing by many of the Jazz Messengers. None managed to measure up to Candy, and Morgan, grappling with heroin addiction, wound up leaving the Jazz Messengers in 1961. He returned to his hometown of Philadelphia to kick the habit, and spent most of the next two years away from music, working occasionally with saxophonist Jimmy Heath on a local basis. His replacement in the Jazz Messengers was Freddie Hubbard, who would also become one of the top hard bop trumpeters of the 60s.Morgan returned to New York in late 1963, and recorded with Blue Note avant-gardist Grachan Moncur on the trombonists debut Evolution. He then recorded a comeback LP for Blue Note called The Sidewinder, prominently featuring the up-and-coming Joe Henderson. The Morgan-composed title track was a funky, danceable groover that drew from soul-jazz, Latin boogaloo, blues, and R&B in addition to Morgans trademark hard bop. It was rather unlike anything else hed cut, and it became a left-field hit in 1964; edited down to a 45 rpm single, it inched onto the lower reaches of the pop charts, and was licensed for use in a high-profile automobile ad campaign. Its success helped push The Sidewinder into the Top 25 of the pop LP charts, and the Top Ten on the R&B listing. Sales were brisk enough to revive the financially struggling Blue Note label, and likely kept it from bankruptcy; it also led to numerous Sidewinder-style grooves popping up on other Blue Note artists albums. By the time The Sidewinder became a phenomenon, Morgan had rejoined the Jazz Messengers, where he would remain until 1965; there he solidified a long-standing partnership with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.Morgan followed the most crucial recording of his career with the excellent, more abstract Search for the New Land, which was cut in early 1964, before The Sidewinder hit. An advanced modal bop session called Tom Cat was also recorded shortly thereafter, but both were shelved in hopes of scoring another Sidewinder. Accordingly, Morgan re-entered the studio in early 1965 to cut The Rumproller, whose Andrew Hill-penned title cut worked territory that was highly similar to Morgans breakout hit. Commercial lightning didnt strike twice, but Morgan continued to record prolifically through 1965, cutting excellent sessions like The Gigolo, Cornbread, and the unissued Infinity. The Gigolo introduced one of Morgans best-known originals, the bluesy Speedball, while the classic Cornbread featured his ballad masterpiece Ceora. Search for the New Land was finally issued in 1966, and it achieved highly respectable sales, reaching the Top 20 of the R&B album charts; both Cornbread and The Gigolo would sell well among jazz audiences when they were released in 1967 and 1968, respectively.By the time Morgan completed those albums, he had left the Jazz Messengers to begin leading his own groups outside the studio. He was also appearing frequently as a sideman on other Blue Note releases, working most often with tenorman Hank Mobley. Morgan was extraordinarily prolific over 1966-1968, cutting around eight albums worth of material (though not all of it was released at the time). Highlights included Delightfulee, The Procrastinator, and the decent-selling Caramba!, which nearly made the Top 40 of the R&B album chart. His compositions were increasingly modal and free-form, stretching the boundaries of hard bop; however, his funkier instincts were still evident as well, shifting gradually from boogaloo to early electrified fusion. Morgans recording pace tailed off at the end of the 60s, but he continued to tour with a regular working group that prominently featured saxophonist Bennie Maupin. This bands lengthy modal explorations were documented on the double LP Live at the Lighthouse, recorded in Los Angeles in July 1970; it was later reissued as a three-CD set with a generous amount of extra material. Morgan led what turned out to be the last session of his life in September 1971. On February 19, 1972, Morgan was performing at the New York club Slugs when he was shot and killed by his common-law wife, Helen More. Accounts of exactly what happened vary; whether they argued over drugs or Morgans fidelity, whether she shot him outside the club or up on the bandstand in front of the audience, jazz lost a major talent. Despite his extensive recorded legacy, Morgan was only 33 years old. Many of his unreleased Blue Note sessions began to appear in the early 80s, and his critical standing has hardly diminished a whit.

Lee Morgan　李·摩根

艺人介绍

最新简评（共58条）

Lee Morgan 李·摩根

艺人介绍

最新简评（共58条）

Lee Morgan　李·摩根