Word from the Jazz Programmer Listserv that alto saxophonist Frank Morgan has passed away:

We’ve just been notified that Frank Morgan passed away peacefully from kidney failure this Friday morning, near his family and friends in his hometown of Minneapolis. He had just completed a successful European tour, even though he was worried about his health. A memorial gathering is planned in his longtime home town of Taos, New Mexico, on what would have been his 74th birthday, December 23.

This is sudden news–I’d just learned this morning that Morgan was suffering from inoperable colon cancer. All I can do is reiterate what I wrote about Morgan several months ago and quote musician Jim Sangrey: His death was inevitable, as it is for all of us. His life was a triumph, which is anything but inevitable for all of us. We are lucky for that lesson, and for the music that he left behind.

Read More: bebop, Frank Morgan, in memoriam

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