I Called Him Morgan Page #3

NOISE]

[Helen] Well, I lived for

most of my part now,

53rd Street.

Not far from Birdland

between 8th and 9th.

Ride around, they all ride

around in the circle there.

I could always fit in

because I was a talker.

And I got a job.

And then I begin to

meet other people.

I started going

uptown to clubs.

That's when you would

really hear music,

the jam sessions, you know?

And I would be invited

to the after-hour joints.

Helen was a hero

in my neighborhood

because she came up

from the south.

And she was a woman

that had to struggle

because she didn't want

to work for anyone.

So she wanted to

be her own person.

When she walked down

the block in the neighborhood,

the men and the women

paid attention.

Especially the men, because

she wore provocative clothes.

She wore are a lot of those

A-line type dresses and suits.

Everything fitted her because

she was built very nice.

And on Friday, she would

change her outfits

and come downstairs

when all the guys

got off from work.

And they'd be shooting crap,

you know.

And she'd go across the street,

and she would shoot with them.

She didn't talk a lot about

her background or home

or anything like that.

She only sort of fit

into conversations

when she felt it was necessary

to correct something.

That something was said

that was not correct,

that she felt

uncomfortable with.

That's the only time she

would really say anything.

[Helen] I will not sit here

and tell you that

I was so nice,

because I was not.

A woman that would cut you.

I was sharp.

Yeah.

I had to be.

Had to be.

I was sharp.

And I looked out for me.

[jazz music playing]

[man] That's him.

Oh, he could be a showman.

He had his little style,

you know. Be stylin'.

He had a nice laugh too.

[Lee] I'm not gonna

stand too close when

we play the ensemble.

I might, you know,

take my solo.

Yeah, well, I'll step back.

I can't be very loud.

[indistinct chatter]

[jazz music playing]

Every time we went to record,

Alfred Lion and Frank Wolff,

the owners of Blue Note,

would bring boxes and boxes

of food and everything.

It was like a party.

And there was always a record

that came out of those six,

seven-hour recording sessions.

With that group, we had a lot

to do with developing

what was called

the "Blue Note sound."

[Jymie] Here was

these two guys

who seemed to be

as involved as the players

themselves, you know.

The guys used to call them

"the animal brothers."

[laughs]

You know,

the lion and the wolf.

And I'll never forget

Frank Wolff,

the whole time,

he would be taking pictures.

He took some

remarkable pictures.

[jazz music playing]

[Wayne] He wrote music that

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