Hit Pick

Hugh Ragin, 8 p.m. Friday, September 10, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, joins three other local luminaries in a tribute to Lee Morgan for this month's installment of the "Steinway and Stained Glass" series, which happens the second Friday of each month. If Ragin's latest CD, An Afternoon in Harlem, is any indication, the two originals this gifted trumpeter has composed for the evening will be nothing short of spectacular. It's appropriate that Joe Bonner will play St. Paul's grand piano, because he was an acquaintance of Morgan's. In fact, Bonner co-wrote one of the selections on the set list, "Memories of Lee Morgan," with saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, shortly after Morgan's death in 1972. Drummer Tom Tilton, who conceived of this event with Ragin, directs the concert series. Tilton's imaginative percussion is joined in the rhythm section by Artie Moore's potent acoustic bass. Guitarist Mitch Chmara and flutist Vincent Wiggins join the proceedings as special guests. -- Thomas Peake