Saturday, May 31, 2008

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder (1963)



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.

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

Tracklist:
1 The Sidewinder
2 Totem Pole
3 Gary’s Notebook
4 Boy, What a Night
5 Hocus Pocus
6 Totem Pole [alternate take]

pw: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

5 comments:

Doug said...

A wonderful album.Very much appreciated.Blue Note issued some absolutely terrific jazz back in the day.Thanks.

jb said...

Thank you.

Dr. President said...

The link for this is dead. Can you please repost it? Thanks.

d3lta said...

Dr., this is a very old post and files do not reside on my hard drive anymore, I don't think it's a particularly hard album to find elsewhere however ;-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the link, but unfortunately it seems to be offline... Does anybody have a mirror or another source? Please reply to my post if you do!

I would appreciate if a staff member here at jazzallthat.blogspot.com could post it.

Thanks,
John