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Mornington Edward Lockett was born in Stepney, London, United Kingdom on November 19, 1961. He began playing clarinet at the age of 14 while he was a student at Cowes High School, then switched to tenor saxophone. He studied at Dartington College of Arts, graduating in 1981, then undertook further study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1984–85, under the tutelage of Lionel Grigson.

In the Eighties and ‘90s Lockett played in the bands of Jim Mullen, Ronnie Scott, Arturo Sandoval, Ian Shaw, and Andrea Vicari. During the mid ‘90s into the new century he performed with Martin Drew, Stan Tracey, Don Weller, Sarah Jane Morris, and Jimmy Smith, to name a few.

In February 1996, Mornington’s album Late Night Sax: After Dark reached No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart. From 2000 until 2004 he was involved in a group co-led by Martin Drew called Celebrating The Jazz Couriers. They played the music of Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes and won the British Jazz Award for Best Small Group in 2002. The band was reformed in 2004 as The New Jazz Couriers.

In 2008 in conjunction with fellow tenor saxophonists Art Themen and Don Weller, Lockett released the album The 3 Tenors at the Appleby Jazz Festival.

As an educator he now works at St. Paul’s Girls’ School, and the Royal College of Music in London, teaching jazz saxophone and improvisation. He has taught at Trinity College of Music, Leeds College of Music and has been a visiting tutor at the Dordogne Jazz Summer School.

He led a monthly residency at the 606 Club in Chelsea with saxophonist Peter King until a year before King’s death. Tenor saxophonist Mornington Lokett has since run an annual tribute, the Peter King Memorial Sax Summit. Invited guests have been saxophonists Graeme Blevins, Simon Allen and Alex Clarke, among others.

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