Great jazz to lift you up and carry you home
This is another one of those recordings that I picked up on a whim only because it was recommended by The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings). One listen and I was hooked like a dolphin in a tuna net. If your foot doesn't start tapping the minute the laser touches the etching, you're deaf or dead. And Morgan keeps it up through the entire recording, really embodying a jazz style that got lost in all the "cool" "avant-garde" "smoothe" music that followed close on this trend-setting album's heels. Multiple listenings do not wear thin, and even if I've been listening to Miles Davis for a week or I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for, Sidewinder always satisfies. This CD belongs in any serious jazz fan's library, and it would certainly add something to the casual jazz listener's library too. Put this on at your next party and I guarantee, the dancing will start and more than a few people will want to know the name of the CD so they can pick it up or download it for themselves.

A fine album with one of the best alternates in the blue note catalog
As many others have already mentioned, this album is definitely a gem. Morgan and the rest of the group put together a solid album. However, the standout track on this version is the second take of "Totem Pole" which was not on the orignal LP. I've heard many a Blue Note album released with sub-par second takes but this version of "Totem" could easily have made the cut and is in some ways better than the album version. If you have the LP and are condsidering it, it's definitely worth picking up just for this aspect alone. Morgan, Henderson and Harris really push their instruments to the limits on the last track and the result is amazing!

Funny jazz & newbie friendly
I was really surprised by this CD. I didn't know Lee Morgan before and I think that, at least this CD, is really good, even for jazz beguinners. As you know, for newbies, there are basically two kinds of jazz: the "good & easy one" and the "bad & extrange one" . Well, so this is from the first set.

An absolute must have classic recording in jazz, hot!
Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder is to jazz trumpet what Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Collosus is to the sax; an absolutely gorgeous work of art that will never leave your your playlist once it works it's way into your head.

It only takes one listen to get infected with the rythym. This is a jazz album that truly rocks, and if you know your roots of rock and roll you'll hear it here, too. Along with Clifford Brown, whom you'll love as well if you dig this recording, Lee Morgan rates among the greatest trumpet players to have ever graced a stage.

this will blow you away
Lee Morgan was one of the most gifted hard bop trumpeters of his or any generation since, and "The Sidewinder" has long been regarded as his magnum opus. The album's title track has become a significant jazz standard, with generations of budding artists since interpreting it both live and on record. This being one of the premium titles in Blue Note's long list of albums to date, Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" is one of the top-selling jazz albums of all time.

Joe Henderson is admirably fantastic on this 1963 recording as is the legendary pianist Barry Harris, both of whom exhibit on here uncanny swinging improvisational backdrops and solos. Henderson underscores here how great an impact and influence John Coltrane was having on artists like himself by this point. But truly it is Lee Morgan, most of all, who stands out far and ahead of the pack on these tracks. "Totem Poll" is an absolute delight, opening to a wonderful piano-intro from Barry Harris with Lee stepping in shortly.

This Rudy Van Gelder Edition comes with 24-bit remastering done by Rudy himself, and the sound quality and clarity is just right throughout. This is one of the most celebrated jazz albums for as long as anyone can remember, a must have for everyone establishing a jazz collection for themselves. You also get an alternate take of "Totem Pole", so buy "The Sidewinder" today! A five-star album if ever there was one.

Personnel:

Lee Morgan (trumpet)
Joe Henderson (tenor sax)
Barry Harris (piano)
Bob Cranshaw (bass)
Billy Higgins (drums)

Producer: Alfred Lion
Label: Blue Note
Recorded: December 21, 1963
Location: Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Edition: The Rudy Van Gelder Edition series
Remastering: 24-bit