Died On This Date (February 19, 1972) Lee Morgan / Jazz Great
themusicsover Lee Morgan
July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972
Lee Morgan was a jazz trumpeter who was one of the key figures of the hard bop style. He received his first trumpet on his 13th birthday, and within five years, he was playing in Dizzy Gillespie’s band. In 1956, Morgan was signed by the legendary Blue Note label where he recorded over two dozen albums. His The Sidewinder of 1963 was his biggest release and is considered one of jazz’s landmark albums. As a sideman, Morgan played on recordings by over 250 musicians. His most noteworthy contributions were to John Coltrane’s Blue Train, Art Blakey’s Moanin’, McCoy Tyner’s Tender Moments, and Stanley Turrentine’s Mr. Natural. On February 19, 1972, Lee Morgan was shot and killed by his girlfriend after the two got in a fight between two of his sets at an engagement. He was 33 years old.
What You Should Own
Nat King Cole was an internationally renowned jazz singer, songwriter and pianist who broke many color barriers for African-American musicians. He is rightfully considered one of America’s musical treasures. Cole learned to play the piano as a child in his father’s church, and by the time he was in his mid teens, he was well on his way with a career in music. He made his first recording with his brother, Eddie, in 1936, and within a year, he moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the recording industry. In 1943, he became one of the first acts to sign with Capitol Records and when the label built its iconic round headquarters in Hollywood in 1956, it was dubbed “the house that Nat built.” Over the course of his career recording for Capitol, Cole released such now-standards as “L-O-V-E,” “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable,” and “Route 66.” In November of 1956, NBC caused a stir when it debuted The Nat King Cole Show, the first of its kind to be hosted by an African-American. In 1958, Cole released the widely successful Cole en Espanol, likely the first collection of Spanish songs recorded by an African-American. It spawned three similar Cole collections in the coming years. A heavy smoker through most of his life – he believed the smoking enhanced his voice – Nat King Cole died of cancer on February 15, 1965. He was 45.
Joe Cuba was a Puerto Rican conga player who has been called the “Father of Latin Boogaloo.” He began playing professionally when he was 19 years old, and 12 years later, made his first recording. His career spanned nearly 60 years. During the ’60s, Cuba became very popular in New York City after he started merging the R&B with Afro-Cuban percussion. It became a style of music called Latin Boogaloo. Joe Cuba died as the result of a bacterial infection on February 15, 2009. He was 77 years old.
Louie Bellson was one of jazz’s greatest drummers. If there were a Mt. Rushmore of jazz drummers, Bellson would likely sit there alongside 