Dick Morgan, who began his professional musical career as a child and spent decades as one of Washington’s leading jazz pianists.
Since his arrival in Washington in 1960, Morgan had a long and steady career as a pianist in nightclubs, hotels and concert halls, including Blues Alley and the Kennedy Center. He recorded more than a dozen albums and performed over the years with many top singers and musicians, including Etta Jones, Joe Williams and Keter Betts.
He was known as a versatile, crowd-pleasing pianist who could embellish a large repertoire of tunes with improvised flourishes that reminded many listeners of piano stars Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner.
In the mid-1950s, when Morgan was working in Norfolk, the trombonist and bandleader Tommy Dorsey invited him to join his group in Las Vegas. The job was cut short when Dorsey died in 1956. During his time in Las Vegas, Morgan performed at a birthday party for Frank Sinatra, with Sinatra singing along with him.
By the late 1950s, Morgan had returned to Norfolk, where he often worked with Virginia-born guitarist Charlie Byrd, who helped launch the bossa nova craze of the 1960s. Byrd helped bring Morgan to Washington, where he was soon leading a trio at the old Showboat Lounge in Adams Morgan.
Saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, then at the height of his fame, was so bowled over by what he heard from Morgan that he called his record label. Within a week, a recording crew came to Washington to capture Morgan in a live album, “Dick Morgan at the Showboat” (1960). His drummer on the recording, Bertell Knox, continued to work with Morgan for more than 50 years.
“I don’t make any claims to be a first-class jazz pianist,” Morgan told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2007. “I’m somebody that will immediately get immersed in the audience and get them to pay attention. That has carried me through the years. I play for the audiences — I don’t play for me.”
Richard Lewis Morgan was born June 5, 1929, in Petersburg, Va. By the time he was 5, he could play hymns from memory — after his mother had played them just once on the pump organ at his family’s home.
Largely self-taught on piano, Morgan had his own radio show in Petersburg when he was 10. He learned mostly from older musicians passing through nearby Fort Lee, Va., and had a early encounter with bandleader Duke Ellington, who encouraged his budding career.
Morgan attended Virginia State University and played in an Army combo in the early 1950s.
He often had extended hotel and club engagements in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and Puerto Rico, but Morgan became a Washington fixture, with long residences at the Top of the Town in Arlington, Pirate’s Hideaway in Georgetown and, more recently, the Madison Hotel in downtown D.C.
In 1997, a Washington Post critic praised Morgan’s album “After Hours,” noting that he “taps into the essence of the blues” and “an engagingly blue mood envelops the listener, thanks to his rippling tremolos and leisurely paced turnarounds.”
Morgan’s final recording, the solo album “Bewitched,” was released in 2010. He gave his last performance in April.
When he was approaching 50, Morgan returned to college at the behest of a friend, comedian Bill Cosby, and graduated in 1979 from the Washington program of Antioch College. He received a law degree from Howard University in 1983 but never pursued a legal career, preferring to stay at the piano.
“He really touched audiences because of how he understood the music and how he could convey what the music was saying,” Steve Abshire, his guitarist for the past 29 years, said Wednesday. “He had a way of communicating the music that went straight to the heart.”
Extract of By Matt Schudel Matt Schudel Obituary
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/dick-morgan-longtime-dc-jazz-pianist-dies-at-84/2013/10/30/8fd4fb82-4188-11e3-a624-41d661b0bb78_story.html
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Dick Morgan, que comenzó su carrera musical profesional cuando era niño y pasó décadas como uno de los principales pianistas de jazz de Washington.
Desde su llegada a Washington en 1960, Morgan tuvo una larga y constante carrera como pianista en clubes nocturnos, hoteles y salas de conciertos, incluyendo el Callejón del Blues y el Centro Kennedy. Grabó más de una docena de álbumes y actuó a lo largo de los años con muchos cantantes y músicos de primera línea, entre ellos Etta Jones, Joe Williams y Keter Betts.
Era conocido como un pianista versátil y agradable para el público, que podía adornar un amplio repertorio de temas con florituras improvisadas que recordaban a muchos oyentes a las estrellas del piano Oscar Peterson y Erroll Garner.
A mediados de la década de 1950, cuando Morgan trabajaba en Norfolk, el trombonista y director de banda Tommy Dorsey lo invitó a unirse a su grupo en Las Vegas. El trabajo se interrumpió cuando Dorsey murió en 1956. Durante su estancia en Las Vegas, Morgan actuó en una fiesta de cumpleaños para Frank Sinatra, con Sinatra cantando junto a él.
A finales de los años 50, Morgan había regresado a Norfolk, donde a menudo trabajaba con el guitarrista Charlie Byrd, nacido en Virginia, quien ayudó a lanzar la locura de la bossa nova de los años 60. Byrd ayudó a traer a Morgan a Washington, donde pronto lideró un trío en el viejo Showboat Lounge en Adams Morgan.
El saxofonista Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, en ese entonces en la cima de su fama, se quedó tan impresionado por lo que escuchó de Morgan que llamó a su sello discográfico. En el plazo de una semana, un equipo de grabación llegó a Washington para capturar a Morgan en un álbum en vivo, "Dick Morgan at the Showboat" (1960). Su baterista en la grabación, Bertell Knox, continuó trabajando con Morgan por más de 50 años.
"No pretendo ser un pianista de jazz de primera clase", dijo Morgan al Richmond Times-Dispatch en 2007. "Soy alguien que se sumergirá inmediatamente en la audiencia y hará que presten atención". Eso me ha llevado a través de los años. Toco para el público - no toco para mí".
Richard Lewis Morgan nació el 5 de junio de 1929 en Petersburgo, Virginia. A los 5 años, ya podía tocar himnos de memoria, después de que su madre los hubiera tocado una sola vez en el órgano de la bomba en la casa de su familia.
En gran parte autodidacta en el piano, Morgan tuvo su propio programa de radio en Petersburgo cuando tenía 10 años. Aprendió mayormente de músicos mayores que pasaban por la cercana Fort Lee, Virginia, y tuvo un encuentro temprano con el director de la banda Duke Ellington, quien alentó su incipiente carrera.
Morgan asistió a la Universidad Estatal de Virginia y tocó en un combo del ejército a principios de los años 50.
A menudo tuvo extensos compromisos en hoteles y clubes en las Bahamas, Bermudas, Canadá y Puerto Rico, pero Morgan se convirtió en un fijo de Washington, con largas residencias en el Top of the Town en Arlington, Pirate's Hideaway en Georgetown y, más recientemente, en el Hotel Madison en el centro de D.C.
En 1997, un crítico del Washington Post elogió el álbum de Morgan "After Hours", señalando que "toca la esencia del blues" y "un atractivo ambiente azul envuelve al oyente, gracias a sus ondulantes trémolos y a sus tranquilos giros".
La última grabación de Morgan, el álbum en solitario "Bewitched", fue lanzado en 2010. Dio su última actuación en abril.
Cuando se acercaba a los 50 años, Morgan regresó a la universidad a instancias de un amigo, el comediante Bill Cosby, y se graduó en 1979 del programa de Washington del Antioch College. Se licenció en derecho por la Universidad Howard en 1983, pero nunca siguió una carrera jurídica, prefiriendo quedarse en el piano.
"Realmente tocaba al público por cómo entendía la música y cómo podía transmitir lo que la música decía", dijo el miércoles Steve Abshire, su guitarrista durante los últimos 29 años. "Tenía una forma de comunicar la música que iba directo al corazón."
Extracto del obituario de Matt Schudel Matt Schudel
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/dick-morgan-longtime-dc-jazz-pianist-dies-at-84/2013/10/30/8fd4fb82-4188-11e3-a624-41d661b0bb78_story.html
01. Serenata (Leroy Anderson) 4:48
02. Bash! (Dick Morgan) 3:30
03. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Traditional) 2:11
04. Mr. Wonderful (Bock-Holofcener-Weiss) 3:29
05. If I Should Lose You (Robin-Rainger) 4:51
06. Settlin in (Dick Morgan) 4:19
07. Take the A Train (Billy Strayhorn) 4:06
08. Work Song (Nat Adderley) 2:57
09. Ill Take Romance (Oakland-Hammerstein II) 4:48
10. Just in Time (Styne-Comden-Green) 4:50
Dick Morgan (piano), Joe Benjamin (bass), Ben Riley (drums).
Recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York City, May 17, 1961
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