The Sidewinder

The Sidewinder
The Sidewinder
Studio album by Lee Morgan
Released	July 1964
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
Singles from The Sidewinder
	"The Sidewinder, Parts 1 & 2"; Released: mid-to-late 1964;

Professional ratings
Review 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 all-around 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

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

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

All songs composed by Lee Morgan.

"The Sidewinder" – 10:25
"Totem Pole" – 10:11
"Gary's Notebook" – 6:03
"Boy, What a Night" – 7:30
"Hocus Pocus" – 6:21
"Totem Pole" [Alternative take] – 9:57 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel

References

^ 2015 liner notes to the Search for the New Land SHM-CD by Michael Cuscuna
^ Simmons, Greg (2020). "Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder". AllAboutJazz. No. February 13. All About Jazz & Jazz Near You. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
^ The Sidewinder at AllMusic
^ "Penguin Guide to Jazz: 4-Star Records in 8th Edition". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 147. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
^ Seymour, Gene (2005) in Kirchner, Bill (ed.) The Oxford Companion to Jazz, Oxford University Press, p. 388.
^ Cook, Richard (2004) Blue Note Records: The Biography, Justin, Charles & Co., p. 182.
^ "Billboard". 9 January 1965.
^ "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
^ "Billboard Top LPs" (January 9, 1965) Billboard, p. 8.
^ Lee Morgan biography Archived 2007-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
^ Tom Cat original liner notes
^ "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Blue Note Records. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
^ "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Blue Note Records. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
^ Jack, Gordon (2019). "Lee Morgan: The Rumproller". Jazz Journal. Jazz Journal. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
^ ,May, Chris (2006). "Lee Morgan: The Gigalo". All About Jazz. All About Jazz. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
^ "Lee Morgan cooked up a classic with "Cornbread"". Blue Note Records. Blue Note Records. 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
^ 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.
^ Yanow, S. Hard Bop accessed December 7, 2009
^ "The Notorious B.I.G., The Chicks, Green Day & More Selected for National Recording Registry (Full List)". Billboard. 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-16.

External links

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

[1] 2015 liner notes to the Search for the New Land SHM-CD by Michael Cuscuna

[simmons-2] Simmons, Greg (2020). "Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder". AllAboutJazz. No. February 13. All About Jazz & Jazz Near You. Retrieved 15 September 2023.

[3] The Sidewinder at AllMusic

[4] "Penguin Guide to Jazz: 4-Star Records in 8th Edition". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

[RSJRG-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.

[BN-7] Cook, Richard (2004) Blue Note Records: The Biography, Justin, Charles & Co., p. 182.

[8] "Billboard". 9 January 1965.

[9] "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 6 October 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. Blue Note Records. Retrieved 6 October 2020.

[14] "Lee Morgan". Blue Note Records. Blue Note Records. Retrieved 6 October 2020.

[15] Jack, Gordon (2019). "Lee Morgan: The Rumproller". Jazz Journal. Jazz Journal. Retrieved 6 October 2020.

[16] ,May, Chris (2006). "Lee Morgan: The Gigalo". All About Jazz. All About Jazz. Retrieved 6 October 2020.

[17] "Lee Morgan cooked up a classic with "Cornbread"". Blue Note Records. Blue Note Records. 2019. Retrieved 6 October 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. 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2024-04-16.

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The Sidewinder

Commercial performance and impact

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

References

External links

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