Frank Morgan, 1933-2007 :: Music News :: Articles

Veteran jazz saxophonist Frank Morgan passed away Friday morning at his home in Minneapolis, according to his publicist. Morgan, a childhood protege of Charlie Parker, would have been 74 on December 23. He was only recently diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer after having returned from a tour in Europe.

Attracted to both the music and hard-living lifestyle of Parker, Morgan spent three decades out of pocket, sidelined from performing due to drug addiction and intermittent incarceration. However, by the mid-1980s, Morgan was performing once again. He suffered a stroke in 1998 which doctors thought would prevent him from playing live again, but Morgan once again beat the odds, performing live once more a short time later.

In 2003 Morgan inked a new deal with New York-based HighNote Records. His initial recordings for the label, City Nights and Raising the Standard, were recorded live at New York's Jazz Standard.

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