Lee Morgan, music · First recorded for Blue Note at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, 1963
The Sidewinder
The Sidewinder is a 24-bar blues that Lee Morgan recorded for Blue Note in December 1963. Players like its funky groove, its plain blues changes and a surprise minor chord in bars 17 and 18. You will hear it on records by Quincy Jones, Benny Golson, Michel Camilo and Kazumi Watanabe.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Lee Morgan✓
- 2 Hear it stretched out Lee Morgan Quintet✓
- 3 Hear a big band take it on Quincy Jones✓
- 4 Hear it sung Tamiko Jones and Herbie Mann✓
- 5 Hear a tenor saxophone lead Benny Golson Funky Quintet✓
- 6 Hear a modern big band GRP All-Star Big Band✓
- 7 Hear a piano trio without drums Michel Camilo✓
- 8 Hear a guitar trio Kazumi Watanabe✓
How the tune works
The Sidewinder is a blues in E♭ that runs 24 bars, twice the length of the usual twelve-bar blues. In the changes under the solos on the 1963 record, E♭7 lasts for the first eight bars, A♭7 takes bars 9 to 12, E♭7 returns for bars 13 to 16, B♭7 holds bars 17 to 20 and E♭7 closes bars 21 to 24. Wikipedia says the written theme brings in a minor chord in bars 17 and 18. The same 24 bars repeat for each solo, and the transcribed solos on the original run three choruses each.
The changes under Joe Henderson's tenor solo on Lee Morgan's 1963 record, transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. The written theme has a minor chord in bars 17 and 18, which the solo changes leave out.
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Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Lee Morgan's 1963 record and his 1970 live set, then hears a 1964 big band, a 1966 vocal and a 1994 tenor saxophone quintet. It ends with a 1992 big band, a 2011 piano trio with congas and a 2011 live guitar trio.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Lee Morgan 1963
The Sidewinder
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- Listen for
- Bob Cranshaw's bass riff opens the track. Lee Morgan's trumpet solo starts at about 1:46 and Joe Henderson's tenor solo at about 3:39, with Barry Harris and Cranshaw soloing after them.
- Try this
- Play the chart at a slow tempo: E♭7 for eight bars, A♭7 for four, E♭7 for four, B♭7 for four, E♭7 for four. Smaller version: play only the root of each chord, one note per bar.
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Step 2 · Hear it stretched out Now playing
Lee Morgan Quintet 1970
“The Sidewinder (Live)”, Live at the Lighthouse
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- Listen for
- The track runs 13:40. Bennie Maupin plays tenor saxophone, Harold Mabern piano, Jymie Merritt electric upright bass and Mickey Roker drums.
- Try this
- Play the 24-bar chart three times without stopping and change the rhythm of your left hand on each pass. Smaller version: play it once and count the 24 bars out loud.
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Step 3 · Hear a big band take it on Now playing
Quincy Jones and His Orchestra 1964
Golden Boy
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- Listen for
- An orchestra with trumpets, trombones, saxophones and a rhythm section plays the tune in 3:44.
- Try this
- Play the chart for one chorus as the melody and one as a short solo, then stop, so the whole thing lasts under four minutes. Smaller version: play the chord roots through the 24 bars once.
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Step 4 · Hear it sung Now playing
Tamiko Jones and Herbie Mann 1966
A Mann & a Woman
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- Listen for
- Tamiko Jones sings and Herbie Mann plays flute in an arrangement by Jimmy Wisner. The track runs 3:05.
- Try this
- Play the chart's roots on piano or guitar and sing one note, the root, on each chord for the full 24 bars. Smaller version: hum along with the recording and tap the 24 bars.
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Step 5 · Hear a tenor saxophone lead Now playing
Benny Golson Funky Quintet 1994
“Sidewinder”, That's Funky
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- Listen for
- Benny Golson plays tenor saxophone and Nat Adderley trumpet, with Monty Alexander on piano, Ray Drummond on bass and Smitty Smith on drums. The track runs 6:11.
- Try this
- Play only the third of each chord through the 24 bars: G over E♭7, C over A♭7 and D over B♭7, one note per bar. Smaller version: play only the roots.
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Step 6 · Hear a modern big band Now playing
GRP All-Star Big Band 1992
GRP All-Star Big Band
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- Listen for
- Tom Scott takes the tenor saxophone solo and Randy Brecker the trumpet solo, and Dave Weckl and Alex Acuña each get a solo on drums and percussion. The track runs 6:43.
- Try this
- Play the chord roots (E♭, A♭, B♭) along with the recording for three choruses and count each 24 bars. Smaller version: one chorus.
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Step 7 · Hear a piano trio without drums Now playing
Michel Camilo 2011
Mano a Mano
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- Listen for
- A piano trio with Giovanni Hidalgo on congas in place of a drum kit, and Charles Flores on bass. It is the second track on the album and runs 6:16.
- Try this
- Play the roots in your left hand and seventh chords in your right, and keep time with your foot instead of a metronome. Smaller version: play only the right-hand chords.
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Step 8 · Hear a guitar trio Now playing
Kazumi Watanabe 2011
Live at Iridium
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- Listen for
- A trio of Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, Janek Gwizdala on bass and Obed Calvaire on drums plays the tune live in 7:24.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords as seventh chords on guitar or keyboard at a medium-up pace. Smaller version: play only the root and the flatted seventh of each chord, such as E♭ and D♭ for E♭7.
More great versions
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Bud Shank & the Sax Section 1966
Bud Shank & the Sax Section
Bud Shank recorded this track in December 1966 with five other saxophonists, a rhythm section and Bob Florence arranging and conducting.
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Bobbi Humphrey 1971
Flute-In
Lee Morgan plays trumpet on this flute-led version of his tune, recorded at Van Gelder Studio on September 30 and October 1, 1971.
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Joe Sample 1994
Did You Feel That?
Joe Sample leads a band with Steve Gadd on drums and Michael Landau and Arthur Adams on guitars, on his 1994 album Did You Feel That?.
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Eddie Henderson, Grover Washington Jr., Joe Lovano, Cedar Walton, Billy Higgins and Peter Washington 1995
“Sidewinder”, Tribute to Lee Morgan
Billy Higgins, the drummer on Morgan's 1963 record, plays in this 1995 tribute band with Eddie Henderson, Grover Washington Jr., Joe Lovano, Cedar Walton and Peter Washington.
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New Directions 1999
New Directions
Greg Osby, Mark Shim, Stefon Harris and Jason Moran are credited on this 1999 recording of The Sidewinder, which Osby produced.
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ARTEMIS 2020
ARTEMIS
Pianist Renee Rosnes arranged ARTEMIS's version, which reviewers describe as a graceful reading with a slower tempo and subtler horn parts than Morgan's soul-jazz original.