Photo by Andrea Canter
Frank Morgan Quartet (December 21-26). Frank Morgan's energetic alto belies his 70+ years and three decades of heroin addiction. His comeback in the 1980s to the highest level of burning bop was nothing short of remarkable. The son of Ink Spots' guitarist Stanley Morgan was born in Minneapolis, moved to Milwaukee at age six, and studied guitar as a young child. He was inspired to switch instruments at age seven after hearing Charlie Parker with the Jay McShann Band. Through his father, he was able to meet Parker who suggested that young Morgan start out on the clarinet. Said Morgan, "I was a little mad with Bird, because I wanted to play saxophone. I didn't understand that he thought he was getting me off to a proper start...It proved to be a blessing, insofar as I was able to develop a clarinet technique that has carried over into my saxophone playing." Within a couple years, Morgan had moved on to soprano and then alto sax.

At age fourteen, his family moved to Los Angeles where his father opened a club, Casablanca. Charlie Parker was a frequent performer, and the alto star took a great interest in the teenage Morgan—and Morgan found Parker of great interest, both as a musician and heroin addict. "I thought the heroin and the bebop and the whole lifestyle thing went together. I thought that one used heroin to play like Charlie Parker played." Morgan played in bop bands on Central Avenue in the early 1950s, recording with Teddy Charles and Kenny Clarke, as well as with his own band for GNP. The critics raved about his debut release, declaring him the successor to long-time acquaintance and muse, Charlie Parker. Parker died shortly thereafter, and with some of his band members, Morgan "proceeded...to celebrate Bird's death by doing the very thing that killed him. That's the way we celebrated Bird's passing, to go out and do some junk. It would have been better if we'd realized it was time to stop."

Thirty years went by before Frank Morgan made another recording as leader; in the interim he unfortunately followed too closely in the footsteps of his idol, experiencing heroin addiction and intermittent jail terms for possession. But he never stopped playing for long, and even in prison he was able to hone his craft. "The greatest big band I ever played with was in San Quentin. Art Pepper and I were proud of that band...We played every Saturday night for what they called a Warden's Tour, which showed paying visitors only the cleanest cell blocks and exercise yards. But people would take that tour just to hear the band." With his 1985 comeback recording (Easy Living, Contemporary), Frank Morgan proved to be a descendent, not clone of Charlie Parker, with a more personal bop style than he had demonstrated earlier. Noted Gary Giddens in the Village Voice (1986), "Morgan's alto sound is supple and lyrical in a way that recalls Benny Carter almost as much as Parker. His tone is fuller in the lower notes than on top, and it can be prim and dry, which makes his frequent use of pinched high notes to pace himself and increase tension all the more effective."

After his resurgence, Frank Morgan recorded and toured with seemingly boundless energy, releasing 14 recordings over the next decade. Following a serious stroke in 1996, Morgan was out of action only two months. City Nights (HighNote, 2004), recorded live at New York's Jazz Standard with pianist George Cables, bassist Curtis Lundy, and drummer Billy Hart, shows Morgan is on top of his horn and still evolving, taking on Miles, Monk, and Coltrane, and creating more space in his arrangements. Noted Florence Wetzel (All About Jazz), "It's 64 minutes of pure delight, jazz at its classic best played by a living master."

"There is no one around who is better on the alto saxophone. What comes out of his horn is soulful, full of fire and timeless"—Wynton Marsalis.