The Weeknd

Edward Lee Morgan, better known simply as Lee Morgan, was a Philadelphia-born jazz trumpeter who rose to prominence at a young age. In 1956, when he was just 18 years old, Morgan joined the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, and that same year signed with Blue Note Records and recorded his debut album Lee Morgan Indeed! Morgan would remain deeply associated with Blue Note for the rest of his too-short career, recording 25 albums for the label as a leader and appearing on enduring classics of the catalog including John Coltrane’s Blue Train, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ Moanin’, Hank Mobley’s No Room For Squares, Wayne Shorter’s Night Dreamer, and Joe Henderson’s Mode for Joe.

Morgan’s prodigious talent was apparent from the start with his brilliant tone, astounding technique, and bravado style fully on display on his early efforts for Blue Note including The Cooker, which was recorded in September 1957 just two weeks after the trumpeter’s ear-catching sideman appearance on Coltrane’s masterpiece Blue Train. Morgan joined Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers in 1958, first appearing on the timeless hard bop classic Moanin’, and remaining with the great drummer’s flagship unit through 1961 as they toured the world and recorded albums including The Big Beat, A Night In Tunisia, The Freedom Rider, and Indestructible, as well as the recent discoveries Just Coolin’ and First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings.