Alto saxophonist Frank Morgan,73, is dead. Like many musicians of his generation, Morgan came under the influence of Charlie Parker and also, unfortunately, emulated Parker's more self-destructive tendencies, namely, heroin addiction. As a result, Morgan spent thirty years in prison for crimes related to his heroin use. After kicking his habit in 1985, Morgan fulfilled his promise with some of the best recording of the last twenty years.
In the early nineties while hosting a jazz show on WPFW-FM, I was asked to interview Morgan in conjunction with his appearance at Blues Alley. This proved to be no ordinary interview for me. First, I was called upon to do the interview not face-to-face but over the telephone. Not the best method for an intervewer of limited experience. And second, Morgan, for whatever reason, was something less than a cooperative subject. As expressive and free-flowing as he was on the bandstand or in the recording studio, he was short and laconic with me, often limiting himself to one-word responses.
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