There's a new film about Frank Morgan

[medjuck]

Showing on June 15 as part of the LA Film Festival. I can't seem to copy the link here but you should be able to Google it.

I got an e-mail from LACMA saying

SOUND OF REDEMPTION: THE FRANK MORGAN STORY

Presented by the Los Angeles Film Festival

Sun Jun 15 | 2 pm

This soulful jam session pays tribute to alto sax legend Frank Morgan, whose hell-and-back career from prodigy to heroin addict, con man and San Quentin convict to his inspirational...

Learn more

[Larry Kart]

IMO, Morgan often sounded like a musical con man after he stopped functioning as one in the world at large. I also saw some personal behavior on his part toward talented fellow musicians that was so outrageous that it led the normally benign Wilbur Campbell to tell him off. Willie Pickens, also part of the rhythm section on that gig, knew Morgan from their youthful days together in Milwaukee and explained (not an exact quote, but the gist of what he said): "Frank was an insecure punk back then, and he still is."

[Head Man]

IMO, Morgan often sounded like a musical con man after he stopped functioning as one in the world at large. I also saw some personal behavior on his part toward talented fellow musicians that was so outrageous that it led the normally benign Wilbur Campbell to tell him off. Willie Pickens, also part of the rhythm section on that gig, knew Morgan from their youthful days together in Milwaukee and explained (not an exact quote, but the gist of what he said): "Frank was an insecure punk back then, and he still is."

Not someone for the "Nice Guy Musician" thread then..........

[Gheorghe]

Strange !

Must admit, I never saw him live. I remember an interview with him after his comback, where he stated that he had wasted so much time and that he´s lucky to be back.

Reading that interview I had the impression, that he might be a nice guy, but it´s not for the first time I heard about his stage behaviour.

[randyhersom]

Grace Kelly, Alto Sax ????

[AllenLowe]

I heard him play very well at the Vanguard, but he was never my favorite.

[jlhoots]

I met him several times while he was living in Taos. He was very nice to me, played requests, talked at length.

Of course, I'm not a musician.

[Peter Friedman]

I recall seeing him play one evening about 17 or 18 years ago. The piano player was Steve Kuhn with whom Morgan had never played before. Frank was extremely complimentary to Kuhn,telling the audience that Steve was a great player and it was a treat to play with him.

Morgan played very well that evening. Personally I like Frank's recordings on Contemporary, Telarc and Antilles.

His last group of recordings on High Note seemed to me to lack something and were just so so

[BeBop]

For a couple of years, when I was living in Oakland, must have been late 80s, I ran into him and his wife/girlfriend a bunch of times. Nothing more than a brief "hey howya doin'" that comes with recognizing one another at another concert. I do remember he was pretty excited about being on some TV show, with or hosted by BIlly Taylor.

[johnblitweiler]

I detected a recurring Art Pepper influence in Morgan and I believe they were once in the same jail at the same time.

[Peter Friedman]

I detected a recurring Art Pepper influence in Morgan and I believe they were once in the same jail at the same time.

Both Morgan and Pepper played frequently with pianist George Cables.

[TedR]

On July 20th at 7:00pm at Night Town in Cleveland, Ohio, "Sound of Redemption" will be screened followed by the Richie Cole/Jackie Warren duo.