It was a night of music when a San Quentin prisoner took the stage with several renowned musicians to pay tribute to former inmate and jazz artist Frank Morgan, who died last year.
The Protestant Chapel was filled with sound on Oct. 12 when prisoner and jazz pianist Reginald Ausin performed with bass player Ron Carter, alto saxophonists Grace Kelly and Mark Gross, trombonist Delphius Marcellus, pianist George Cable and Marvin “Smitty” Smith on the drums.
“Being on that stage and playing in tribute to my friend Frank Morgan with Marcellus and the crew was just amazing,” Austin said. “For me, heaven couldn’t get much better.”
Austin said it was an honor to play in memory of Morgan and speak the language of music without ever having to say a word.
“I thank God I was ready when the opportunity came,” said Austin. He said that Morgan was a major influence on his style and development in music.
While Austin was playing, Cable was listening and watching over Austin’s shoulder.
“At that point I knew my music was saying something that he wasn’t used to hearing,” Austin said.
As a child, Austin took lessons from Kathryn Muller, a piano teacher who was a Holocaust survivor and a concert pianist in Germany until World War II.
“Muller taught me music, etiquette and to have pride in myself. She taught me to be a man of culture,” Austin said. “What she shared with me never goes out of style.”
PRISON
Austin began his prison term in 1977, and he said he was looking for something to keep his spirits up while pursuing his love of music.
“I met Morgan here at San Quentin in 1981 through my friend Luke Oliver, a bass player, when I was just beginning my life sentence,” Austin said. “My background was in classical music, but Morgan introduced me to bebop.”
Soon after meeting, both musicians began playing in a band called Brothers of Soul, formed inside San Quentin. As his friendship with Morgan grew, they had conversations on Bach inventions, and Austin learned to incorporate bebop into his classical training.
“Bach inventions for a pianist are short pieces, and when they’re expounded upon, each piece evolves with every interpretation,” Austin said. “Eventually, I incorporated the bebop that Morgan gave me with my classical knowledge of Bach.”
Austin has been able to develop his own style of playing, which has become a mainstay in his music.
“But that night was special,” Austin said. “We played in memory of a great alto jazz saxophonist, a man who was my friend, Frank Morgan.”
