“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.

Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

A living legend of alto saxophone, Frank Morgan recently relocated to his native Twin Cities. With a series of fine quartet releases on High Note, including the recent Reflections, Morgan is now turning his attention to the sax/piano duet. His sets with Ronnie Matthews at the Dakota last August were simply sublime. Now Morgan joins forces with pianist George Cables on the Artists Quarter stage, October 27-28.

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.

Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

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.”

Since his resurgence, Frank Morgan has recorded and toured with seemingly boundless energy, releasing 15 recordings over the next decade. After a serious stroke in 1996, Morgan’s recordings were on hold until he released City Nights (HighNote, 2004) with pianist George Cables, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Billy Hart. This first volume recorded live at Jazz Standard showed Morgan to be 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.” Morgan came back a year later with Raising the Standard (volume 2), and now this summer has released Reflections with Ronnie Matthews, Essiet Essiet, and Billy Hart.

George Cables

Native New Yorker George Cables attended the “Fame” high school (High School of the Performing Arts) in Manhattan as a classically trained pianist. But he was soon inspired by such pianists at Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, as well as by the giants of the time, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years, but soon was busy gigging around New York including brief stints with Max Roach and Art Blakey. He landed on the west coast touring with Sonny Rollins and soon was a fixture on the LA jazz scene. His reputation grew as he worked with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and Bobby Hutcherson, as well as Rollins. In the late 70s and beyond, Cables worked extensively with Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper. Most recently, Cables has worked on a tribute to Dexter Gordon with Victor Lewis and Rufus Reid, and a quartet project with Gary Bartz, Eric Revis and Jeff Watts.

Frank Morgan is still touring, but the epicenter of his energy now is right here in the Twin Cities. His duo series provides a unique opportunity to enjoy in depth one of the last of the great practitioners of bop saxophone. And there is no better setting for this music than the intimacy of the Artists Quarter in downtown St. Paul.

Frank Morgan and George Cables will be on the band stand at the Artists Quarter, 408 St. Peter Street in downtown St. Paul on October 27-28, sets at 9 pm. Visit www.artistsquarter.com or 651-292-1359.

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