I CALLED HIM MORGAN

In 1972, in the early hours of a wintry morning with heavy snowfall, 33-year-old trumpeter Lee Morgan was shot and killed at an East Village jazz club by his common-law wife, Helen Moore. Decades later, in North Carolina, jazz radio announcer–turned–teacher Larry Reni Thomas met Moore in a history course he taught at Shaw University’s continuing-ed program, and she granted him a rare, intimate recount of her life and crime. Weaving the haunting recorded confessional with a trove of archival material and interviews, director Kasper Collin retraces two ill-fated lives brought together by undeniable artistry and desperate need, resurrecting the joys and sorrows of a bygone era steeped in hard bop jazz.

Following a live screening, Collin joins us to discuss the making of the critically lauded documentary, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and landed on multiple “Best of 2017” lists, including those of The New Yorker and The New York Times.