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.