Editing Lee Morgan (section)

== Tragic Death ==

Lee Morgan was shot and killed on February 19, 1972, at Slug's Saloon in New York City by his common-law wife, Helen More, during a break in his performance. The murder, committed in front of horrified witnesses, ended the life of one of jazz's most gifted musicians at age 33. The circumstances—a relationship marked by Morgan's infidelity and More's desperate dependence—reflected the personal chaos that sometimes accompanied jazz careers, even those achieving artistic success.<ref name="thomas"/>

Morgan's death robbed jazz of a major voice whose finest work might have been ahead of him. The recordings he left—dozens of albums as leader and sideman—document extraordinary talent whose Philadelphia origins connected him to the city's jazz tradition. His influence on subsequent trumpeters, his compositions that remain jazz standards, and the recordings that continue to attract new listeners ensure that his brief career left lasting marks on the music he loved.<ref name="mcmillan"/>