[yasr_overall_rating]
An exploration of the relationship between jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who was implicated in his murder in 1972.
Opening in stark black and white, little snowflakes fall into frame whilst the titular subject, Lee Morgan’s heart-reeling opening notes of ‘Search for New Land’ plays. An elderly woman named Helen is being interviewed and she tells us that on a cold snowy night she killed her lover Lee whom she simply “called Morgan.” The movie’s backdrop is set against their ill-fated romance in the late 1960s and Lee Morgan’s stunning soulful compositions that made him a popular figure in the New York and the Blue Note recording 1960’s Jazz Scene. The documentary was made over a long period of time consisting of audio from Lee’s radio interview, colleagues on camera, and Helen’s final interview over 20 years ago. It is directed by the Swedish born Jazz aficionado Kasper Collin, whose debut documentary covered avant-garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, who was similarly eclipsed by other well-known artists.
Helen, our main narrator, tells us how she grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, surrounded by farm fields and the slow pace that comes with such a rural landscape. At the very young age of 13, she had her first child, then another at 14, with a much older man. The man with whom she fathered the children with, tragically, drowned and she felt “disillusioned,” rightfully so with having to process being a young mother without any prospects. Helen’s grandparents raised her children and she left them to visit her departed husband’s grieving family in New York City. After two weeks in the drastically different environment, she decided to trade her corn stalks for skyscrapers. She lived right near Birdland, the jazz venue which was basically the musical Cathedral for promising and popular artists alike to congregate and collaborate. Helen would dress to impress and was in a league of her own. She shot craps across the street from her apartment with local residents and was the only woman playing with them. She was conversationally concise but she had a short fuse and would not hesitate to threaten or cut someone with a knife.
Lee Morgan hailed from Philadelphia, ‘the City of Brotherly Love,’ which was also a temporary home to another jazz juggernaut, John Coltrane. Incredibly, at the young age of 18, Lee was performing in Sugar Hill, Harlem, alongside the iconic Dizzy Gillespie. Lee’s colleague, Wayne Shorter, who was a saxophonist and composer, was serving in World War II when he first heard of Lee Morgan. They fortuitously joined together and played in a band called The Messengers, when Wayne and fellow drummer Albert Tootie Heath speak of Lee they are equally regretful and excited remarking how Lee was destined to be a star also dapperly dressed and loved driving a shiny car. Lee knew how to tell a story with his trumpet and he caught the revered Blue Note labels ear that was Home to musical giants like Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and many other household names.
Unfortunately, as with many talented musicians, he began to delve into heroin. One night, a bandmate noticed he was nodding off and they gave him an ultimatum to quit drugs or the band. He quit the band and his life quickly fell apart. He resorted to selling his shoes and even had the terrible drug-induced accident of falling over and hitting his head on a radiator which burned his unconscious skull leaving a portion scarred for life. Then, in late 1967, after being mostly forgotten and battered by his unabating addiction, on a snowy night in the in the dead of winter, he met Helen, who was more than concerned that he was not wearing a coat on a sub-zero degree NYC night. Helen, who was much older than Lee, opted to call him Morgan and she insisted on helping him he get clean and begin performing again. His fans and colleagues were equally thrilled and attended or jammed on stage with him. Helen and Morgan would travel the country, vacationing and playing all over, up and down the West Coast. Helen was more of a maternal figure than a conventional partner, she liked to take care of him and helped his wardrobe be replete with stylish attire. He was back in the spotlight and thanks to Helen, his life was completely turned around. Helen remained unfazed and quick-witted no matter who it was, even the infamously sharp-tongued Miles Davis was quickly put in his place by her which made me laugh. Things continued to go well and he began to teach music lessons to young promising students and was excellent at it but as usual, not all good things last.
The story is remarkably low-key and focused while still feeling expansive on the genre of music and the obstacles of being black in the 1960s. People of color especially have to grow up so fast or deal with the trauma that is not heard or addressed. Many artists at that time missed out on opportunities due to the staggering oppression that is still very palpable today. The opening track, ‘Search for New Land,’ a song overshadowed by his previous album The Sidewinder, and much like his legacy overshadowed by other legends, closes out the beautifully edited and photographed film. Wayne, his fellow saxophonist, noted that the ‘Search for New Land’ was Lee getting back to his roots and the song touches on newfound freedom. It is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, the trumpet soaring with light drum strokes like a flourish of rain washing away the filth and the devastation of enslavement. The song evokes images of the Marcus Garvey owned Black Star Liner on its sail to the West Indies or even families moving out West to escape Jim Crow. Its sound fills the room with hope and the search for a brighter path ahead, and truly, a beautiful finish to such a wonderful documentary.
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