The Sidewinder cover

The Sidewinder

Released

Trumpeter Lee Morgan was a teenage phenomenon. He signed with Blue Note at 16, and was 19 when he played on John Coltrane’s Blue Train. He was a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from 1959-61, but drug problems forced him out. When he returned to the scene in 1963, he came packing this incredible album. The title track, with its long and winding melody and driving rhythm, actually became a chart hit, and this remains one of Blue Note’s best-selling albums to this day. The band is stunning: Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, Billy Higgins on drums. All five pieces are Morgan compositions, and though they’re all uptempo, they’re very different from each other, encompassing precise bebop, bluesy boogie, and some unexpectedly avant-garde touches (“Gary’s Notebook”).

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Milestones cover

Milestones

Miles Davis
Gateway 2 cover

Gateway 2

Jack DeJohnette, John Abercrombie, Gateway, Dave Holland
Largo cover

Largo

Brad Mehldau
A Fickle Sonance cover

A Fickle Sonance

Jackie McLean
Con-Soul and Sax cover

Con-Soul and Sax

Wild Bill Davis
Sound of Love cover

Sound of Love

Paul Motian
Bumpin’ cover

Bumpin’

Wes Montgomery
Arctic Riff cover

Arctic Riff

Joe Lovano, Marcin Wasilewski
Prayer Meetin' cover

Prayer Meetin'

Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine