Sam Morgan (December 18, 1887 – February 25, 1936) was an American

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

–based

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

player and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

. He was born in Bertrandville, Louisiana, United States. Sidemen in the band included brothers

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

and Andrew Morgan on trumpet and tenor sax, respectively, Earl Fouché on alto sax and Jim Robinson on trombone. Robinson's cousin Sidney Brown (aka Little Jim or Jim Little) was the bassist, and

George Guesnon Creole George Guesnon (May 25, 1907, New Orleans, Louisiana – May 6, 1968, New Orleans) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and singer. When he was twelve years old, Guesnon bought a ukulele under the influence of an uncle who played gu ...

was Morgan's

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

ist from 1930 to 1935. The "Young Morgan Band" as it was commonly called by fans of the day, was one of the most popular territory bands touring the Gulf Coast circuit (

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

). Sam Morgan died in New Orleans in February 1936, at the age of 48.

Reissues

Columbia Special Products, a division of Columbia Records, produced in 1964 a three record set, ''Jazz Odyssey, Volume 1: The Sound of New Orleans (1917–1947)''. The music of "Sam Morgan's Jazz Band", recorded in 1927 with Morgan on cornet, comprised all of the sixth side. The tracks were: "Steppin' on the Gas"; "Everybody's Talkin'"; "Mobile Stomp"; "Sing On"; "Short Dress Gal"; "Bogalusa Strut"; "Down by the Riverside"; and "Over in Gloryland".''Jazz Odyssey Volume 1 The Sound of New Orleans'' (1917-1947) CBS Records/CBS INC./51 w 5n Street, New York, NY, 1964 These eight 78rpm sides are Morgan's entire recorded legacy.

References

External links

Sam Morgan Jazz Band
audio of 1927 records on Red Hot Jazz Archive.
Sam Morgan's Jazz Band
at Music of the United States of America (MUSA) 1887 births 1936 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz bandleaders American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-trumpeter-stub

Reissues

Further reading

References

External links