Track Listing

1. Sidewinder
2. Totem Pole
3. Gary's Notebook
4. Boy, What a Night
5. Hocus Pocus
6. Totem Pole [Alternate Take]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7135 in Music
• Brand: Lee
• Released on: 1999-11-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Limited Edition, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
The Sidewinder, Lee Morgan's 24-bar blues with an infectious bass line and backbeat, instantly became one of the most popular pieces in modern jazz history. Every track on this classic album is a gem.

Amazon.com
The Philadelphia-born trumpeter and superb bop stylist Lee Morgan apprenticed with Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey before emerging as a leader in his own right in the early '60s for Blue Note Records. Although Morgan owed a stylistic debt to both Gillespie and Clifford Brown, he quickly developed a voice of his own that combined half-valve effects, Latin inflections, and full, fluid melodies. While many of Morgan's later sessions for Blue Note would find him paired with saxophonist Hank Mobley, The Sidewinder features then up-and-coming tenor player Joe Henderson, plus Detroit pianist Barry Harris, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins. Along with the title track, an unconventional 24-bar blues, the album's compositional standout is "Totem Pole," a minor Latin groove featuring an outstanding solo by Henderson. This is the kind of relaxed blowing date, invigorated by thoughtful performances, that forms the backbone of the Blue Note catalog. --Fred Goodman

Customer Reviews

Sophisticated Music for Sophisticated People.
Why should you even bother with Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder?" The reasons are plenty. Because it's one of the finer releases on the esteemed Blue Note label. Because it's one of the trumpeter's best albums. Because you, the listener, will get to witness the awesome interplay between Morgan, saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Barry Harris, bass player Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins. Because it's a one-of-a-kind album that belongs in any serious jazz lover's collection. Check out the second track "Totem Pole," in which Morgan gives each of his members a chance to shine. Harris's great piano solo and Henderson's saxophone compliment Morgan's trumpet like butter on a hot biscuit. "Hocus Pocus," like the rest of the album, is a great uptempo number that will have anyone within earshot tapping their toes to the steady beat of Higgin's drum, supported by Morgan on trumpet and Henderson on sax. This album was originally released in 1963 but was remastered 35 years later by Rudy Van Gelder. Thanks to Van Gelder, the recording sounds notably crisp and vibrant, with the music projecting with a certain force that was meant to be experienced. Morgan's catalogue is full of winners, but if you have to start with one album, many would agree that "The Sidewinder" is the one to get.

Rock, Funk and Jazz in close harmony
The most successful of all Lee Morgan's albums. The funky title track "Sidewinder" is alone worth the cost of the CD.

Combines a four/four rock drum beat, soul/funk/boogaloo bass line with rapid-fire, close harmony mirror-image Jazz trumpet and tenor sax parts on top. This fusion effort was called a Rock sell-out when it originally was released but it is one of the most consistently listenable Fusion type albums to this day.

Other tracks are strong, less funky, more Jazzy. Especially Totem Pole. Lee Morgan spent most of his subsequent life trying to duplicate the success of this album following the same formula, usually with lesser results; a few good tracks and a lot of more forgetable stuff. No, he doesn't have the beautiful lost-in-a-crowd melancholy sound of early Miles Davis and his harmon mute, but Lee Morgan is as good in a different direction: intense, happy and upbeat.

Great bestseller album from the sixties. Burrows into your head and you hear it in your memory. A great album for Rocker's who think they don't like Jazz. Or those new to Jazz.

Lee Morgan at his best!
If you ever want to convert a non-fan into a jazz lover this album would be my first choice. The most underrated jazz musician ever is at his peak and it's hard to stop this disc once you start. Crisp, clean, upbeat jazz in every song. No ballads or muted horns here, this is hardbop at it's best. As a longtime Morgan fan I can tell you he never sounded better than on this disc. Joe Henderson always played well with Lee and Higgins was one of the premier drummers at that time. Don't think about it, just buy it!