Advocacy, Lee Morgan

Edward Lee Morgan Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony

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I nominated Edward “Lee” Morgan for a Pennsylvania historical marker on February 19, 2022, the 50th anniversary of his death. I chose that date to ensure the conversation was not solely about how Lee Morgan died. I wanted to shift the conversation to how the legendary trumpeter lived.

In an open letter published in the Philadelphia Tribune on February 23, 1974, Lee’s beloved sister, Ernestine Morgan Cox, wrote:

[T]hough he only lived to be 33, he managed to accomplish more than some of us who have sixty or more years in which to do it… Lee Morgan really lived a full life… Lee did indeed live and he has left an indelible impression on the lives of many whose path he has crossed.

WRTI Editorial Director Nate Chinen wrote an accurate account of how we got here.

Lee Morgan’s historical marker will be dedicated on International Jazz Day. I was privileged to get a sneak peek when I dropped off the cover. The marker is blocked and blurred because the text should not be revealed before the unveiling.

The dedication ceremony will be held on April 30, 2024 at 12pm – rain or shine. The marker will be installed at 52nd and Chancellor Streets, in front of the former site of the Aqua Lounge.

Following the unveiling, we will walk over to the Painted Bride Art Center (5212 Market Street) for a community celebration hosted by the Voices of 52nd Street Oral History Project from 2pm to 3:30pm. It will be an afternoon of sharing memories of Lee Morgan, the Aqua Lounge and “the Strip.”

The celebration will continue at the Black Bottom Jazz Fest featuring the Daud El-Bakara Quartet and the Drexel University Jazztet, presented by the Black Bottom Tribe Association. The concert will be held from 3pm to 6pm at Drexel Square, 3001 Market Street (across from William H. Gray III 30th Street Amtrak Station).

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage Preservation, Lee Morgan

‘The Sidewinder’ Added to National Recording Registry

To commemorate International Jazz Day 2023 , I nominated Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder” for listing on the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Established in 2002 as part of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The registry includes music, spoken word and historic speeches.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the Class of 2024 on April 16, 2024. I scrolled the list with trepidation. When I saw Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder,” I jumped up in stunned disbelief.


A record 2,899 nominations were submitted for this year’s class. “The Sidewinder” is among the 25 audio recordings selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ sound collection.


We will celebrate the listing on International Jazz Day 2024 when Edward Lee Morgan’s historical marker is unveiled.

The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public. To register for the unveiling, please go here.

Cultural Heritage Preservation, Lee Morgan

Jazz Appreciation Month: Francis “Frank” Johnson

In an opinion piece published in the Philadelphia Inquirer for African American Music Month 2023, I noted that keyed bugle player, bandleader and composer Francis “Frank” Johnson toured the United States, and was the first Black musician to tour Europe.

I stand corrected. As electric guitarist, music educator and musicologist Tyler Diaz made clear during a recent concert and roundtable discussion at the Museum of the American Revolution, Frank Johnson was the first American to travel to Europe as a working musician.

In a blog post, Diaz wrote:

Sometime during the 1810s, Johnson was introduced to the Keyed Bugle, an immediate predecessor to the trumpet. With the mastery of this new instrument paired with his noted virtuosity on the violin, Johnson began his rise to national acclaim.

[…]

They [Johnson and band members] became the first Americans to travel to Europe as working musicians. The goal was to come back to Philadelphia with new music and increased musicality. After successful concerts in London and a possible trip to Paris, he returned stateside on May 16th, 1838, surpassing the goal he set out in his ad with great reception.

Johnson is sometimes referred to as the forefather of jazz and ragtime. I am struck by the similarities between Frank Johnson and Lee Morgan.

Both musicians were born in Philadelphia and masters of their chosen instrument. The keyed bugle is an early version of the modern trumpet. Johnson and Morgan were “universally respected” and “celebrated personages of Philadelphia.” Frank and Lee oozed confidence and cool.

They will soon have a historical marker in common. Frank Johnson’s historical marker was installed in 1992.

Lee Morgan’s historical marker will be unveiled on April 30, 2024, International Jazz Day. The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public. To register for the unveiling, please go here.

Advocacy, Lee Morgan

Jazz Appreciation Month: Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was born at Philadelphia General Hospital on April 7, 1915. Located in the Black Bottom, the public hospital was the “hospital of choice” for African American women during the Great Migration.

WKCR is hosting a special birthday broadcast in honor of Lady Day. You can listen to the 24-hour broadcast on 89.9 FM or stream it live here.

My appreciation for Billie Holiday is well-documented. I made some noise when I found out that Lady Day was not honored on Philadelphia’s Walk of Fame. I ruffled some feathers but Billie got her plaque.

It’s Lady Day’s heavenly birthday but April 2024 is Lee Morgan Appreciation Month. So I want to note that a little over a year after graduating from Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical School, the trumpet virtuoso was performing with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. Lee was on the same stage as Billie Holiday.

On International Jazz Day 2022, I led a walking tour of Billie Holiday’s Philadelphia. On International Jazz Day 2024, I will lead the dedication of Lee Morgan’s historical marker.

The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public. Please go here to register for the unveiling.

Advocacy, Lee Morgan

Jazz Appreciation Month: Edward Lee Morgan

Jazz Appreciation Month, also known as JAM, is an annual celebration held in April to honor and promote jazz and its cultural significance. JAM was conceived by the National Museum of American History in 2001.

This year, Jazz Appreciation Month celebrates the 125th birthday of Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.

However this year in Philadelphia, it’s Edward Lee Morgan Appreciation Month.

Join us on International Jazz Day for the dedication of Edward Lee Morgan’s historical marker.

The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public. Please click here to register.

Cultural Heritage

Women in Jazz Month: Samara Joy

Women in Jazz Month is celebrated annually in March. It is a time to recognize and honor the contributions of female vocalists, composers, bandleaders, and instrumentalists. Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan are jazz icons who are ensconced in the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

With a voice that evokes Ella and Sarah, 24-year-old Samara Joy McLendon has already achieved GRAMMY recognition.

Samara Joy won the 2023 GRAMMY awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist for her second album, “Linger Awhile.”

Samara Joy won the 2024 GRAMMY for Best Jazz Performance for “Tight.”

Samara Joy co-wrote the soulful and defiant “Why I’m Here” featured in the Netflix film “Shirley.”

With a voice that belies her age, listening to Samara Joy is, well, a joy.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage Preservation

Women’s History Month: Augusta Savage

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Augusta Savage was a sculptor and arts educator, and an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She founded the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts in Harlem, where she mentored and inspired many well-known Harlem Renaissance artists including Ernest Crichlow and Jacob Lawrence.

Like her monumental work, Savage’s story was almost lost to history. “The Harp” was created for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The design was inspired by James Weldon Johnson’s poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem. Viewed by more than five million people, Savage’s sculpture was destroyed during the cleanup after the fair ended.

American Masters Shorts‘ documentary, Searching for Augusta Savage, recently premiered on PBS. The filmmakers said they “‘wanted to investigate why evidence of Savage’s accomplishments and her work appear to be erased. We wanted to know how someone so accomplished, so enterprising and so celebrated during her lifetime, could be missing from the annals of American history and the museum landscape.”

Monumental Women has launched a campaign to recreate “The Harp.” For more information, go here.

Advocacy

Women’s History Month: Claudette Colvin

I want to kick off Women’s History Month with Claudette Colvin who on March 2, 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white woman while riding a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The school student refused to move to the back of the bus when ordered by the bus driver. Claudette’s defiance led to her arrest. She was charged with violating Montgomery’s segregation ordinance, disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer.

Claudette was a member of the NAACP Youth Council but the civil rights organization did not want the rebellious teenager to be the face of the bus boycott. Respectability politics forced the 15-year-old to take a back seat to Rosa Parks who nine months later similarly refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus.

Claudette was one of the four plaintiffs in the court case that challenged segregation on Alabama buses. The case, Browder v. Gayle, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which on November 13, 1956 ruled Alabama’s segregated bus system violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Improvement Association voted to end the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott on December 20, 1956.

Colvin was almost lost to history but she is getting her flowers.

Sixty-six years after her arrest, Colvin’s record was expunged. A Black man, Judge Calvin Williams, signed the order to seal and destroy her juvenile court records.

Thank you, Sister Claudette.

Advocacy, Lee Morgan

Lee Morgan Marker Unveiling

Lee Morgan’s life was tragically cut short 52 years ago. Lee lingers in our hearts and memories. His game-changing album, “The Sidewinder,” captivated the public and rescued Blue Note Records from the brink of bankruptcy.

The title track was a rare crossover hit on the pop and R&B charts. “The Sidewinder” album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.


As we celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month in April, let us honor Lee Morgan’s enduring legacy. Join us on International Jazz Day for the unveiling of his historical marker at the former site of the Aqua Lounge on West Philly’s famed 52nd Street commercial corridor.

Edward Lee Morgan will take his rightful place alongside John Coltrane and Billie Holiday with a historical marker in Philadelphia.

To RSVP, visit Lee Morgan Historical Marker Unveiling.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage

Remembering Malcolm X

Brother Malcolm X was gunned down at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965.

The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center is hosting an evening of prayers, performances and reflections to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the assassination of “our own black shining prince,” El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.