Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

“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

Alto saxophonist Frank Morgan nearly followed the path of Charlie Parker to an untimely end. Attracted to both the music and heroin-infused lifestyle of Bird, Morgan came dangerously close to ending a promising career, spending three decades out of circulation due to drug addiction and intermittent incarceration. But unlike Parker, Morgan survived, and from the mid 1980s his burning, hard bop recordings and performances more than justified his early accolades. Even a stroke in 1996 did not silence his horn for long. Today, Morgan lost a last battle to kidney failure, only a few weeks after returning from a European tour. He recently had been hospitalized for inoperable colon cancer.

Herbie Lewis with Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

The son of Ink Spots guitarist Stanley Morgan, Frank 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, Frank’s 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.”

Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

Morgan relocated to his native Twin Cities two years ago. This was hardly retirement, however, as Frank continued to tour and, locally, turned his attention to the sax/piano duet. His sets with Ronnie Matthews at the Dakota in 2005, with George Cables at the Artists Quarter in 2006, and with Joanne Brackeen in early 2007 were simply sublime. And in a multi-generational showcase during the 2007 Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Frank performed with local legend Irv Williams and young rising star, 15-year-old Grace Kelly, on the Dakota stage, backed by the masterful pianist, Peter Schimke. In September 2007, Frank was back on the Dakota stage to help celebrate Leigh Kamman's retirement from The Jazz Image. It was to be his last local appearance.

Frank Morgan © Andrea Canter

I first heard Frank Morgan live at the 2004 Healdsburg Jazz Festival. It was a very hot June day in California Wine Country, and Frank, with a white hat, sat in the shade, blowing like a teenager with George Cables, Curtis Lundy and Billy Hart. His move to the Twin Cities the following year allowed us frequent opportunities to hear his pure boppish tones in quartet and duo settings. Perhaps one of the most gratifying was his appearance at the Dakota last summer, bridging the age gap with 87-year-old Irv Williams on tenor and his 15-year-old protégé, Grace Kelly, on alto. As Frank frequently mentioned on stage, “it’s great to be alive.” His music will always make us feel that way.