HistoricSiteMarkers
Postwar & Contemporary

Edward Lee Morgan (1938-1972)

Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Jazz trumpeter, compo-ser, and key performer of hard bop. Joined the Dizzy Gillespie band and played with Art Blakey and John Coltrane. As a bandleader he cut over 30 albums and is known for “The Sidewinder,” a crossover pop hit and jazz standard. Performed here at the Aqua Lounge.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

Trumpeter Edward Lee 'Lee' Morgan came up through the demanding schools of the Dizzy Gillespie band and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, becoming one of the defining voices of hard bop. As a bandleader he recorded more than thirty albums, and his infectious 1963 tune 'The Sidewinder' crossed over into the pop charts and became a jazz standard. He played this very spot at the Aqua Lounge, one of the Philadelphia clubs that nurtured the postwar jazz scene.

Why it matters

Morgan embodied the golden age of hard bop, a Black American art form that carried the sound of the nation's cities to the world before his life was cut tragically short.

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Related people

  • · Edward Lee Morgan
  • · Dizzy Gillespie
  • · Art Blakey
  • · John Coltrane

Themes & tags

African American HistoryLandmark

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