Most Like Lee

Jackie McLean (alto sax), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Herbie Hancock (piano), Larry Ridley (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums). From the album Cornbread (1967).

Lee Morgan played fast and elegant phrases, and his use of glissando was the most striking. His sonorous timbre varied of register when using the semi-piston and could play two notes at the same time pressing different pistons. His great interpretative skills consisted in varying tones continuously speeding up improvisation in a brilliant way. To do this he used arpeggios in short and quick sentences. His sense of rhythm and his interpretative energy make Morgan an indisputable figure in the history of modern jazz.

He was also a good philanderer and met Salvador Dalí. He met Helen More 10 years before she killed him, and he had even dedicated a song to her. She was 13 years older than him, a precocious mother and a happy widow who had inherited a fortune from her husband. She had saved Morgan from begging, when the heroine had forced him to pawn his trumpet, but another woman interposed between them and Helen could not stand it.

The theme is played at medium tempo by the wind section in unison. McLean then presents a creative solo transmitting his ideas through the saxophone in a balanced way. He is followed by Morgan who chooses his sentences well and attack each note with clarity. Next Mobley enters with a dynamic and engaging speech that he plays with dexterity. Then Hancock arrives with an intense and impetuous melodic line. By contrast, Ridley plays a subtle and easy to listen solo accompanied by Hancock beneath, and to finish the group re-exposes the theme.