Nate "Mrafu" Morgan (February 9, 1953A Tribute Fit for a Jazz Man

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

February 13, 2013) – November 21, 2013 was an American

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

and composer.

Biography

In Junior Highschool, Nate Morgan played in various bands and studied with

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

and

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on ...

. In highschool, he was part of the cooperative

Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension The Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA) was a collective of African American jazz musicians formed by Horace Tapscott in the late 1960s. It was part of his work with the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (PAPA), founded in 1961, which ...

(UGMAA). In the following years he worked mainly in the Los Angeles jazz community, playing with

Horace Tapscott Horace Elva Tapscott (April 6, 1934 – February 27, 1999) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (also known as P.A.P.A., or The Ark) in 1961 and led the ensemble through the 1990s. Early lif ...

, Rufus and

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's Worl ...

and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. He was influenced by Stanley Cowell and McCoy Tyner, and often played in Charlie O's music club in

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

and in Encino, alongside Arthur Blythe, John Heard, Charles Owens, Nedra Wheeler and Sonship Theus, and in a piano duete with Elias Negash. One of his compositions, "Tapscottian Waltz", in honor of Tapscott, was never recorded by him. Morgan also wrote the score for the documentary ''I Build the Tower'' (2006). Morgan recorded three albums, was conductor of the Ujaama Ensemble and a member of the

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...

group, Build an Ark. He participated in 16 recording sessions between 1972 and 2008,

Tom Lord Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

''The Jazz Discography'' (online, reference November 22, 2013) alongside artists such as Sweet Baby J'ai, Bobby Bradford/ John Carter,

Bobby Bryant Bobby Bryant (born January 24, 1944) is a former cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings. Early life At Willingham High School, he was a star in football along with basketball, track and field, and baseball. Bryant was recruited to play for the Un ...

(''Flowers Stolen from the Yards of Old Folks'', 2002) and in 2008 with Azar Lawrence (''Speak the Word''). In 2008, Morgan suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

which ended his career. A tribute concert in honor of Morgan's 50th birthday was played by Kamau Daa'ood,

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

, Ojenke, Otis O’Solomon Smith and Arthur Blythe.

Discography

* ''Retribution, Reparation'' (Nimbus, 1982), with Danny Cortez, Jesse Sharps, Joel Ector, Fritz Wise * ''Journey into Nigritia'' (Nimbus/Vivid Sound, 1983), with Dadisi Komolafe, Jeff Littleton, Fritz Wise * ''Live in Santa Barbara'' (Nimbus, 1996), with Geoff Littleton, Fritz Wise

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Nate 1953 births 2013 deaths Jazz-blues musicians Jazz-blues pianists American jazz pianists