Lee Morgan’s ‘Live at the Lighthouse’ was a masterpiece that turned out to be a farewell

“Live at the Lighthouse” was primed to be the start of a new chapter for Lee Morgan in 1970. As someone who hardly slowed down since he first picked up the trumpet in his early teens and became a standout in the jazz scene of the 1960s, the jazz virtuoso would finally come of age at 32 with this album.

As the ‘60s came to a close, the revolutionary spirit of the times was so pervasive that it compelled much more from artists, especially in jazz. With many of his studio releases, Morgan regularly sounded like he had far more to say musically that couldn’t quite be captured on record. He not only grew more introspective as a young Black man but into adulthood, Morgan became politically active as one of the leaders of the Jazz and People’s Movement, which called for television networks to hire more Black artists and jazz musicians.

“Live at the Lighthouse” would lend ample room for Morgan’s vision and his burgeoning group’s raw ideas musically. In a year that saw other similarly progressive releases - Ahmad Jamal’s “The Awakening,” Jackie McLean’s “Demon’s Dance,” and Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew” “Lighthouse” not only epitomized the turbulence of those changing times but also allowed Morgan to redefine who he was at what would tragically turn out to be the twilight of his career.

With expansive tracks like “Neophilia” and “Absolutions” (penned by multireedist Bennie Maupin and the late bassist Jymie Merritt, respectively), in their two weeks at the Lighthouse Cafe, together these men would render a work that was both forward-thinking and highly cathartic.

“I just noticed that he was excited about being out in California,” says drummer Jack DeJohnette, who sat in with the group at the Hermosa Beach club on Morgan’s composition “Speedball.” “His plan represented that dose of freedom, being out in California and by the ocean, just being more relaxed and feeling upbeat about the future. He was really in a good mood and thanking Helen (Morgan) for all she’d done to help bring him back. It was a good moment for everyone.”

That moment is collected in full on “The Complete Live at the Lighthouse,” an expansive 12-LP, eightCD box set released by the iconic Blue Note label. This document of their engagement at the renowned jazz club in Hermosa Beach includes Morgan famously telling his audience that he wouldn’t play any of his older hits or take any requests.

The original album was the final one released during his lifetime, as he died less than two years later in an incident that remains contentious. Though a bittersweet final recording, these performances show that at this point in his life, Morgan was most definitely still looking ahead.

Already performing professionally on the weekends by the age of 15, Morgan was co-leading his own group with bassist Spanky DeBrest, and they soon got the opportunity to play with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers during one of the group’s stops in Philadelphia. Later, Dizzy Gillespie hired Morgan to replace Joe Gordon in his big band. While working with Gillespie, he had ample opportunity to shine with several unforgettable solos, notably on “A Night in Tunisia.”

When Clifford Brown, one of Morgan’s chief stylistic influences, died in a car crash at 25, that created an opening to join the group. With the demise of Gillespie’s big band in 1958, Morgan soon rounded out the third iteration of the Messengers, contributing to some of their groundbreaking albums like “Moanin’ “and “The Freedom Rider.” Several of the Messengers often backed Morgan on his later releases as leader, particularly pianist Bobby Timmons and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and Hank Mobley.

Between 1956 and 1971, his prolific output for Blue Note resulted in 25 albums as leader and nearly twice as many recordings as a sideman and featured player, with Morgan always balancing his early influences and searching for new directions.

“I think the reason that the Blue Note catalogue has been so extraordinarily relevant and enduring is that the artists that have recorded with the label, by and large, have been artists who assimilated all the music that came before them,” says Don Was, president of Blue Note Records.