The Sidewinder

This article is about the 1964 album. For the road, see County Route 10 (Mohave County, Arizona). For the title composition, see The Sidewinder (composition).

1964 studio album by Lee Morgan

The Sidewinder

Studio album by

Lee Morgan

Released| July 1964 (1964-07)[1]
Recorded| December 21, 1963
Studio| Van Gelder Studio
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre| Jazz, hard bop
Length| 40:59
Label| Blue Note
Producer| Alfred Lion
Lee Morgan chronology
| Take Twelve
(1962)  | The Sidewinder
(1964)  | Search for the New Land
(1964)

|
|

Singles from  The Sidewinder

1. "The Sidewinder, Parts 1 & 2"
Released: mid-to-late 1964

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllAboutJazz| [2]
Allmusic| [3]
Penguin Guide to Jazz| 👑
[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide| [5]

The Sidewinder is a 1964 album by the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S. It was released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4157 (mono) and BST 84157 (stereo).

The title track is perhaps Morgan's best-known composition; it would go on to become a jazz standard,[6] and was additionally released as a single,[7] reaching number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1965.[8]

## Commercial performance and impact

[edit]

The album became Blue Note's best-selling record ever, breaking the previous sales record and saving the label from near bankruptcy.[9] 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.[10] The title track was used as the music in a Chrysler television advertisement and as a theme for television shows.[11][12]

At the insistence of Blue Note executives, several of Morgan's intended follow-up albums either had their release postponed or were shelved entirely so that Blue Note could score "another 'Sidewinder'."[13] Morgan's subsequent albums would therefore attempt to approximate the format and appeal of The Sidewinder by opening with a soul-jazz boogaloo inspired composition while also attempting to capture a hard bop aesthetic.[14] This approach is said to be most noticeable on Morgan's immediate follow-up albums, including The Rumproller,[15] The Gigolo[16] and Cornbread.[17]

## Critical reception

[edit]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" (with a crown), 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.[18] The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his AllMusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of the 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.[19]

In 2024, the album was selected to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, and/or aesthetically significant".[20]

## Track listing

[edit]

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" [Alternative take] – 9:57 Bonus track on CD reissue

## Personnel

[edit]

* Lee Morgan – trumpet
* Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
* Barry Harris – piano
* Bob Cranshaw – double bass
* Billy Higgins – drums

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 2015 liner notes to the Search for the New Land SHM-CD by Michael Cuscuna
2. ^ Simmons, Greg (2020). "Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder". AllAboutJazz. No. February 13. All About Jazz & Jazz Near You. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
3. ^ The Sidewinder at AllMusic
4. ^ "Penguin Guide to Jazz: 4-Star Records in 8th Edition". Tom Hull. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
5. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 147\. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
6. ^ Seymour, Gene (2005) in Kirchner, Bill (ed.) The Oxford Companion to Jazz, Oxford University Press, p. 388.
7. ^ Cook, Richard (2004) Blue Note Records: The Biography, Justin, Charles & Co., p. 182.
8. ^ "Billboard". January 9, 1965.
9. ^ "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
10. ^ "Billboard Top LPs" (January 9, 1965) Billboard, p. 8.
11. ^ Lee Morgan biography Archived 2007-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ Tom Cat original liner notes
13. ^ "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
14. ^ "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
15. ^ Jack, Gordon (2019). "Lee Morgan: The Rumproller". Jazz Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
16. ^ ,May, Chris (2006). "Lee Morgan: The Gigalo". All About Jazz. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
17. ^ "Lee Morgan cooked up a classic with "Cornbread"". Blue Note Records. 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
18. ^ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006). "Lee Morgan". The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th. ed.). New York: Penguin. pp. 944. ISBN 0-14-102327-9.
19. ^ Yanow, S. Hard Bop accessed December 7, 2009
20. ^ "The Notorious B.I.G., The Chicks, Green Day & More Selected for National Recording Registry (Full List)". Billboard. April 16, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Helgeson, Jeff. Lee Morgan: Biography. Accessed August 13, 2007
* Leonard Feather on The Sidewinder
* NPR: Basic Jazz Record Library

* v
* t
* e

Lee Morgan

Year(s) indicated are for the recording(s), not first release.

As leader
or co-leader|

* Lee Morgan Indeed! (1956)
* Introducing Lee Morgan (1956)
* Lee Morgan Sextet (1956)
* Dizzy Atmosphere (1957)
* Lee Morgan Vol. 3 (1957)
* City Lights (1957)
* The Cooker (1957)
* Candy (1957–58)
* Peckin' Time (1958)
* Monday Night at Birdland (1958)
* Another Monday Night at Birdland (1959)
* Here's Lee Morgan (1960)
* Lee-Way (1960)
* Expoobident (1960)
* The Young Lions (1960)
* Take Twelve (1962)
* The Sidewinder (1963)
* Search for the New Land (1964)
* Tom Cat (1964)
* Cornbread (1965)
* Infinity (1965)
* The Gigolo (1965)
* The Night of the Cookers (with Freddie Hubbard, 1965)
* The Rumproller (1965)
* Delightfulee (1966)
* Charisma (1966)
* The Rajah (1966)
* Standards (1967)
* Sonic Boom (1967)
* The Procrastinator (1967–69)
* The Sixth Sense (1967)
* Taru (1968)
* Caramba! (1968)
* Live at the Lighthouse (1970)
* The Last Session (1971)

With
Art Blakey
& The Jazz
Messengers|

* Theory of Art (aka, A Night in Tunisia, 1957)
* Drums Around the Corner (1958–59)
* Moanin' (1958)
* 1958 – Paris Olympia (1958)
* Des Femmes Disparaissent (1958)
* Les Liaisons dangereuses (1958)
* Africaine (1959)
* At the Jazz Corner of the World (1959)
* Paris Jam Session (1959)
* The Big Beat (1960)
* A Night in Tunisia (1960)
* Like Someone in Love (1960)
* Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World (1960)
* Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1961)
* The Freedom Rider (1961)
* The Witch Doctor (1961)
* Roots & Herbs (1961)
* Pisces (1961–64)
* Indestructible (1964)
* Golden Boy (1964)
* 'S Make It (1964)
* Soul Finger (1965)
* Hold On, I'm Coming (1965)

With
Hank
Mobley|

* Hank Mobley Sextet (1956)
* Jazz Message No. 2 (1956)
* No Room for Squares (1963)
* Dippin' (1965)
* A Caddy for Daddy (1965)
* A Slice of the Top (1966)
* Straight No Filter (1966)
* Third Season (1967)

With
others|

* Minor Move (Tina Brooks, 1958)
* Blue Train (John Coltrane, 1957)
* Intensity (Charles Earland, 1972)
* Charles III (Charles Earland, 1972)
* Brass Shout (Art Farmer, 1959)
* Sliding Easy (Curtis Fuller, 1959)
* The Curtis Fuller Jazztet (1959)
* Images of Curtis Fuller (1960)
* Dizzy in Greece (Dizzy Gillespie, 1957)
* Birks' Works (Dizzy Gillespie, 1957)
* Dizzy Gillespie at Newport (Dizzy Gillespie, 1957)
* Benny Golson and the Philadelphians (Benny Golson, 1958)
* A Blowin' Session (Johnny Griffin, 1957)
* Mode for Joe (Joe Henderson, 1966)
* Last Chorus (Ernie Henry, 1957)
* Grass Roots (Andrew Hill, 1968)
* Lift Every Voice (Andrew Hill, 1969)
* Flute-In (Bobbi Humphrey, 1971)
* The Prime Element (Elvin Jones, 1969)
* Drums Around the World (Philly Joe Jones, 1959)
* The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones (1959)
* Cliff Jordan (Clifford Jordan, 1957)
* Kelly Great (Wynton Kelly, 1959)
* Greasy Kid Stuff! (Harold Mabern, 1970)
* Jacknife (Jackie McLean, 1965)
* Consequence (Jackie McLean, 1965)
* Evolution (Grachan Moncur, 1963)
* Introducing Wayne Shorter (1959)
* Night Dreamer (Wayne Shorter, 1964)
* House Party (Jimmy Smith, 1957–58)
* The Sermon! (Jimmy Smith, 1957–58)
* Mr. Natural (Stanley Turrentine, 1964)
* Tender Moments (McCoy Tyner, 1967)
* Easterly Winds (Jack Wilson, 1967)
* Mother Ship (Larry Young, 1969)
* Love Bug (Reuben Wilson, 1969)

Discography

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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