The Sidewinder


The Sidewinder is a 1964 album by the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. It was released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4157 and BST 84157.
The title track is perhaps Morgan's all-around best-known composition; it would go on to become a jazz standard, and was additionally released as a single.
The album became Blue Note's best-selling record ever, breaking the previous sales record roughly ten times over. Record producer Michael Cuscuna recalls the unexpected success: "the company issued only 4,000 copies upon release. Needless to say, they ran out of stock in three or four days. And 'The Sidewinder' became a runaway smash making the pop 100 charts." By January 1965, the album had reached No. 25 on the Billboard chart. The title track was used as the music in a Chrysler television advertisement and as a theme for television shows. Many subsequent Morgan albums, and other Blue Note discs, would duplicate this album's format, by following a long, funky opening blues with a handful of conventional hard bop tunes.

Music and recording

The original album's five tracks, all written by Morgan, are heavily blues-based, and feature tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, then 26, whom Morgan was mentoring at the time. Drummer Billy Higgins, pianist Barry Harris, and bassist Bob Cranshaw are also featured in the personnel.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection", calling the title track "a glorious 24-bar theme as sinuous and stinging as the beast of the title. It was both the best and worst thing that was ever to happen to Morgan before the awful events of 19 February 1972," referring to Morgan's killing at the hand of his common-law wife, Helen Moore.
The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of the 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.

Track listing

All songs composed by Lee Morgan.
  1. "The Sidewinder" – 10:25
  2. "Totem Pole" – 10:11
  3. "Gary's Notebook" – 6:03
  4. "Boy, What a Night" – 7:30
  5. "Hocus Pocus" – 6:21
  6. "Totem Pole" – 9:57 Bonus track on CD reissue

    Personnel