Opening Night at Slug’s
9 Avenue B, NY 10009
By Hannah Reimann

Jazz Trumpeter Lee Morgan (1938-1972) left a striking legacy after his truncated 33-year-old life. A virtuoso composer and performer with his own elaborate melodic style, his tragic demise due to a gun fired by his common-law wife, Helen Moore aka Helen Morgan, occurred after she brought Morgan’s gun to him to help him deal with a drug dealer he was unsatisfied with. According to this, other lore shared in person on stage and via zoom recordings projected onto the wall of the new Slug’s Jazz club, there was another woman involved that night, someone Morgan also loved, leading to a crime of the heart by Helen. Eyewitnesses gave their accounts and there was a moment of silence by everyone present.
A brilliant show opening the new Jazz club commemorated Morgan’s death, exactly 50 years ago on February 19 which took place at a down-and-dirty Jazz club, also called Slug’s. The old venue was located around the corner from 9 Avenue B at 243 East Third Street. The 2022 Slug’s was packed and wine flowed freely. Unique Cafè tables borrowed from Robin Hirsch’s late Cornelia Street Cafè which Hirsch had in storage provided an appealing friendliness. There was a fresh, new feeling of excitement and camaraderie in the room due to the huge group effort to open a venue in the midst of our pandemic times.
Most important for the evening’s festivities were the musicians. Alphonso Horne on trumpet, Greg Lewis on sax, Mathis Picard on piano, Marty Jane on bass and Darrian Douglas on drums showcased the incredible skill and musicality of Morgan and his colleagues. Their intricate solos and improvisations captured the era and talent of musicians that clearly left a positive influence, technical challenge and opportunity for mastery for these young players. Their love and dedication was evident in every phrase of their execution and expression. For someone who died so suddenly and brutally, the music was contrastingly joyful, full of humor and imagination.
This unusual bright spot at a time when many music venues are trepidatious to open and hire performers as they did pre-pandemic was a most uplifting evening of laughter, applause and success. A couple got up and danced in the aisles. Proprietor, Allan Buchman of the Culture Project created the new Slug’s in association with Blueprint for Accountability, 9B9, his colleague Juan Puntes of Whitebox Gallery, and 2B & 2C. They produced an unforgettable event which celebrated one of Jazz’s glowing stars, Lee Morgan, with great dignity and respect. Less known than his contemporaries, Art Blakey and Dizzie Gillespie, whom he performed with, it is concerts like this that can chart a Morgan revival and help his music become widespread.
Everyone was wearing masks (removing them to sip wine) and checked for vaccinations. There were speeches by the individuals who opened the venue and special guest Cameroon-born Jean Victor Nkolo, Spokesperson of the Presidency of the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Nkolo spoke with gratitude about the legacy of great black musicians and their connection to Africa. Buchman and Nkola had joined forces in 2009 to create two major concerts in the UN General Assembly Hall: one commemorating the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and one honoring the UN Peacekeepers on UN Day. These interesting details about the presenters made the evening even more meaningful.
Hannah Reimann is a pro musician, author, and educator who has made films as an actor and director. She has concertized her multi-genre shows as pianist, singer, and composer internationally including an Off-Broadway run of Both Sides Now: The Music of Joni Mitchell. She will be releasing an EP of original songs in 2022. Creator of The International Stretto Piano Festival in 2021.