Lee Morgan was shot dead 50 years ago.

[Dmitry]

I don’t know who to credit for this great photograph, which is described to have been taken in 1965 at Slug’s Saloon. Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley.

 

[jazzbo]

Thanks to Peter Churches: 

1967, photo by Dutch pianist Rein De Graaf, printed from negative by Peter Leitch. https://m.facebook.com/.../a.5608739.../1769079686516900/...

[Gheorghe]

Time flies. When I first heard Lee Morgan (in my case it was Coltrane´s Blue Trane and Griffin´s Blowin Session), 1972 was the nearest past, so I though wow if he still lived he still would be a young man in his 30´s. 

Great photo of Lee with Hank Mobley....

[felser]

My intro to Morgan was Blakey's "Toys in the Attic" on my local jazz station (WRTI - Temple University) later in 1972.  Led me to go buy "Live at the Lighthouse", my furdt jazz purchase.

[Dan Gould]

9 minutes ago, felser said:

My intro to Morgan was Blakey's "Toys in the Attic" on my local jazz station (WRTI - Temple University) later in 1972.  Led me to go buy "Live at the Lighthouse", my furdt jazz purchase.

John, do you listen much at all to Morgan's 50s work? Just curious.

As for the photo, this is like, the best photo, non Francis Wolff Division, of Hank.

[JSngry]

How small are those tables?

[felser]

36 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

John, do you listen much at all to Morgan's 50s work? Just curious.

Dan, yes. I have all his 50's leader dates and enjoy most of them quite a bit.  Hard to go wrong with Blue Notes from that period.  But my favorite Morgan's are from later:   'The Gigolo', and his last album, the one with Billy Harper

 

[Dan Gould]

55 minutes ago, JSngry said:

How small are those tables?

Small enough for four drink glasses not plates. I kinda thought Slugs didn't have a kitchen ... ?

[kh1958]

Similar tables in the Village Vanguard.

[AllenLowe]

it's been a long time, but Slugs, IIRC, was small and narrow. I don't remember a kitchen. I saw Ornette there in transcendent form, and strangely enough, Jean Genet was sitting at a table on the night I saw Mingus.

[Gheorghe]

13 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

it's been a long time, but Slugs, IIRC, was small and narrow. I don't remember a kitchen. I saw Ornette there in transcendent form, and strangely enough, Jean Genet was sitting at a table on the night I saw Mingus.

I don´t know Jean Genet, but to see Mingus always was fantastic. I was too young to see him in the 60´s , but had two occasions in the late 70´s . When did you see him ? 

 

15 hours ago, felser said:

Dan, yes. I have all his 50's leader dates and enjoy most of them quite a bit.  Hard to go wrong with Blue Notes from that period.  But my favorite Morgan's are from later:   'The Gigolo', and his last album, the one with Billy Harper

 

I have some of his 50´s leader dates, but if I want to listen to one 50´s Morgan as a leader, I always listen to "The Cooker" with Pepper Adams, Philly J.J, that fantastic version of Tunisia and Lover Man....

The earlier dates are not so inspiring for me. I have them as cardboard mini LP editions, but I´m not sure which is which, some have Lee as the leaders, others have Mobley as the leader, one is a ballad album (I think "Candy")....., but really my favourite from that period is "Cooker".

[porcy62]

18 hours ago, JSngry said:

How small are those tables?

Less space for tables more space for drinking customers, ergo less free space in the cash register. The first lesson I learned in my bar ages ago. And free and salty snacks to increase the thirst.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I assume you all listened to this interview of the man who ran Slug's Saloon: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/20145088/slugs-saloon

I thought it made for a very interesting listen. I wish someone would transcribe it for posterity.

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, porcy62 said:

Less space for tables more space for drinking customers, ergo less free space in the cash register. The first lesson I learned in my bar ages ago. And free and salty snacks to increase the thirst.

I have a hard time imagining four people at a table, even with just drinks, unless they were all  on the slight side of stature. Anybody tall and/or wide, they take up two spots automatically.

Then again, I've been in crowded joints like that, But I was slimmer then.

[jazzbo]

21 hours ago, JSngry said:

How small are those tables?

Supposedly this is not Slug's nor even the US.

[Dmitry]

I accept the possibility that this photo was taken at the Village Vanguard.

1. Tables are the same, or similar, but tables are tables, they could be replaced.

2. In the background, we can see a wall, with wooden staves. In my opinion, this is a partition between the main floor and the section of tables lined up along the wall.

3. To Lee's left we can see a small section a velvet curtain, for which the Village Vanguard is famous.

Lee appears to be seating on the stage, his back touching the curtain. Approximate position is in front of where George Cables is seated on this photograph.

I'm trying to find a photograph of the view from the stage. Meanwhile, I think Lee may have been seated on the edge of the far left of the stage, where the speaker is hanging now. 

 

We can see the partition on this photograph. It's on the right. 

Did Lee and Hank perform at the Vanguard? 

[david weiss]

2 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Supposedly this is not Slug's nor even the US.

The place card on the table certainly looks like it bears the Slugs logo.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

According to Feather's Encyclopedia, Rein de Graaff "Visited US in late 67, sat in w. Lee Morgan; Hank Mobley", so since this photo has been attributed to him (he is still alive BTW), it is likely to have been taken in the US and not Europe.

[david weiss]

18 minutes ago, bresna said:

According to Feather's Encyclopedia, Rein de Graaff "Visited US in late 67, sat in w. Lee Morgan; Hank Mobley", so since this photo has been attributed to him (he is still alive BTW), it is likely to have been taken in the US and not Europe.

I have a series of photos with Rein de Graaf and Kenny Dorham on the street in the East Village (Avenue A and 6th Street) and one photo he took of KD performing with Louis Hayes and Chick Corea. I don't have them on this computer though, I'll have to dig through some stuff to find them....

[Dmitry]

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

14 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

 

Looks a little like Wally's Cafe in Boston:

Although I saw some great music at Wally's, I really don't miss that place much. We were jammed in there like sardines, it was hotter than hell (even in the winter) and the cigarette smoke was brutal. Maybe it's time to visit again? Oh wait, they pack that place so tightly that they haven't been able to re-open due to Covid.

[bertrand]

1 hour ago, david weiss said:

The place card on the table certainly looks like it bears the Slugs logo.

Yes, that is a clue.

1 hour ago, bresna said:

According to Feather's Encyclopedia, Rein de Graaff "Visited US in late 67, sat in w. Lee Morgan; Hank Mobley", so since this photo has been attributed to him (he is still alive BTW), it is likely to have been taken in the US and not Europe.

How can he be contacted?

[Dmitry]

FB page dedicated to Slug's / Slugs. 

https://www.facebook.com/slugssaloon/

[Kevin Bresnahan]

20 minutes ago, bertrand said:

How can he (de Graaff) be contacted?

According to this page: https://www.jazzpodiumdetor.nl/rein-de-graaff-het-is-mooi-geweest/, he retired in 2019, so he likely doesn't have a manager any more.

[Peter Friedman]

Maybe it is because I heard the 1950's Lee Morgan Blue Note albums when they were first issued, but they are strong favorites of mine. He was a bright fresh new trumpet star in the 50's, and recorded with great hard swinging musicians such as Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Pepper Adams, Wynton Kelly, and Philly Joe Jones, Charlie Persip and many others.

Though I certainly enjoy most of Lee Morgan's recordings throughout his entire career, those from the 1950's hold a special place in my love of his music.