Lee Morgan

Trumpeter Lee Morgan's rip-roaring, funky style conveyed a brash, larger-than-life attitude that knew no equal in the jazz universe. He combined dazzling virtuosity with a startlingly bright tone. Morgan joined Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1956, also recording his first solo album that same year. In 1963, Morgan virtually defined Hard Bop with his shuffling blues, "The Sidewinder," and over the next four years he recorded eight solid albums for Blue Note. Though he was a virtuoso, Morgan was not experimental during this period: he found a formula and stuck to it. Later in his career, Morgan began branching out in a modal direction, leaning toward the avant-garde. Morgan was killed in 1972 before he had a chance to fully develop his new musical personality.