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It seems hard to realize that almost eightyears have passed since a precociouslygifted 18-year-old trumpeter named LeeMorgan made his first startling impact onthe jazz scene by joining the brass sectionof Dizzy Gillepsie’s band. In retrospect, it seems fortunate thatMorgan was able to gain this experiencebefore the big band situation deterioratedto the point where Gillespie decided toresume a small combo format. By the timethat happened, Lee had well over a year ofsection work to his credit, not to mention tosolo exposure often accorded him by hisproud and unselfish boss. Since the dissolution of the orchestra inJanuary of 1958, Lee’s remarkablematurity as a solo voice has been reflectedin his work with Art Blakey for a of years,and more recently in a group with JimmyHeath at Birdland as well as a variety ofother small-group settings. Part of his time has been spent back homein Philadelphia, but since the summer of1963 he has been more active again on theNew York scene. The present sides mark hisreturn to the studios for Blue Note in asession with a specially assembled andimpressively strong personnel. Of Joe Henderson, Lee observes: “Thiswas the first time I had ever recorded withJoe. I had never even played with him; butI heard the first record date he had done forBlue Note, and when Alfred Lion asked mewho I wanted on this date, of course I

thought immediately of Joe. I rememberedthat sound – and he has a kind of differentapproach. I can hear a lot of influences inhim, of course – I can hear Sonny, andTrane; and some Bird, too. But theimportant thing is, I think he’s finding hisown identity now.” Of Barry Harris, Lee says: “Barry hasbeen one of my favorite pianists for a longtime. I heard him when I went to Detroit withDizzy’s band one time for a concert; thatwas when I met Barry and Yusef and CurtisFuller, some of the great Detroit men. Lateron, every once in a while when I got a fewgigs I’d try to use Barry; so he’s familiar withmy music to a great extent too.” He is similarly enthusiastic about BobCranshaw: “Bob’s one of the best all-around bass players on the scene today.He’s got a great big sound, and no matterwhat kind of music you bring in, he can seewhat’s happening and read it. And he canwalk, and he can solo. It’s much the sameway with Billy Higgins. I used to hear a lotabout Billy, but I didn’t know who he was;maybe that was when he was located out inLos Angeles. I remember hearing about himwhen he was with Ornette Coleman’sgroup. Then, through Al Lion, I got on adate with him, and I’ve come to admire him– he’s got a lot of maturity for a youngdrummer. He never overplays to the point ofdrowning the horns out, yet you alwaysknow he’s there.” Of the compositionsbrought in for this occasion – all originals

by the leader – it is interesting to note thatall five are based on changes that aresimple enough to offer a good blowingbase, yet sufficiently varied and personal toavoid triteness or monotony. The title number might best be describedas a long-meter blues (24 measures to thechorus). “The tune kind of put me in mind ofthe sidewinder – you know, the ‘bad guy’on television,” says Lee. “There’s a snakecalled the sidewinder, but I was thinking ofthe bad guy.” If the character and moodseem a little different from that of theaverage blues, you can attribute it to theunexpected change at bars 17-18 of eachchorus, when a minor chord is introduced. The fascinating rhythm section figureestablished during the opening ensemblesis sustained throughout the solos, givingthe performance a deep blue tinge as wellas a Latin touch. Lee’s solo, fluent andsensitively constructed, never becomesgrandstand and relies at t imes onessentially simple devices, such as therepeated B flat in the last of his threechoruses. Henderson’s solo is rich inmelodic variety (note the contrast betweenthe busy opening and simple continuationin his second chorus). Harris’s piano picksup in intensity as it goes along, aided on histhird chorus by the horn’s backing.Cranshaw bears out Lee’s complimentaryobservations in a fine solo that owes part ofits success to the continued pulsing of BillyHiggins’s percussion figures.

LEE MORGANLEE MORGAN, trumpet; JOE HENDERSON, tenor sax; BARRY HARRIS, piano;

BOB CRANSHAW, bass; BILLY HIGGINS, drums.

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“Totem Pole,” named for the effect of Lee’salternation with Joe, is a group of six notesthey play going into and coming out of therelease. The E-flat minor theme isstrengthened by the effective contrast ofLatin rhythm on the main passage and astraight 4/4 in the release. As Lee himselfagrees, this track contains some of the bestindividual blowing in the album. Lee’s ownpersonal phrasing and occasional use ofhalf-valve effects are in evidence; as forJoe, he always puts down his instrumentalfoot where the beat is, never letting you losetrack of the rhythmic or harmonic structure.Harris’s solo, partly in octaves and later insingle-note lines in the Bud Powell tradition,sustains the interest until Lee returns to soloagainst some intense and exciting rhythmicsection work. “I got the idea for thenumber,” says Lee, “after listening to Dizzydown at Birdland. He played the early DukeEllington tune, ‘The Mooche,’ a wonderfulold piece, and I decided I’d like to dosomething in that same general form.” Of “Gary’s Notebook,” Lee says:“Gary’s a friend of mine, and he’s realserious – quite an intellectual guy. Nomatter what he’s doing, whether he’sriding the subway or just sitting around thehouse, he’s always doodling, or figuringsomething out – he’s a musician too andhe’s working with the Schillinger system.The tune is a blues, which is a simple form,but there’s a lot to play. The line is not too

simple, and that’s the way Gary is – a basicguy, but kind of deep.” To these comments should be added theobservation that this is considerably morethan just another blues. It’s plays as a fastwaltz, in the minor mode, with a 16-barintro leading to 24-bar choruses, and witha series of tricky two-against three effects bybass drum and bass to launch the solos. “Boy, What A Night” is also a blues waltz,but this time with more of a funky feeling anda 12/8 meter, with a very basic character toboth melody and changes. “Remember theold Avery Parrish blues After Hours?” saysLee. “You’ll notice that during the mainfigure, the bass and the piano are playingthe rhythm out of that. We tried this a lot ofdifferent ways – first as a straight blues, thendouble-up time, then with the ¾ feeling –until it finally came out the way it is here.” Onhis solo here, it seems to me, Lee reflectssome of the Gillespie influence in hisphrasing and in the ability to string ideastogether at considerable length. NoteHarris’s sly fills in the closing reprise of thetheme, and the old-timey blues ending. “Hocus-Pocus” is, as Lee comments, “Justa simple tune, a nice easy blowing thing withthe standard chorus length. I wanted to getaway from straight blues. After I’d written itBarry Harris pointed out that the changesare the same as ‘Mean To Me,’ except for aslight difference in the channel.” Joe Henderson and Lee are both

displayed to advantage in the straight-ahead swinging groove of thisperformance. Barry, in his choruses, showsnot only a wealth of ideas but a sturdytechnique, often kept latent but occasionallymade more openly evident in a flurry ofsixteenth notes The theme is repeated twiceat the end, once to feature Billy Higgins andthen with regular ensemble. Lee is justifiably proud of the way thissession turned out. The rhythm section wasa stimulating as he expected, but the specialpleasure of the occasion was theopportunity to share the front line with JoeHenderson. “Now that I’ve worked withJoe, I’m eager to get together with himagain; he’s very efficient in every way. Andmaybe next time I can get him to do some ofthe writing too.” That will be something to look forward to;but in the meantime these five buoyantinterpretations of Lee Morgan themes offera rewarding evidence of Lee’s owndevelopment as a composer and soloist,and of Joe Henderson’s value as athoroughly able aide.

– Leonard Feather,Original Liner Notes

THE SIDEWINDERHTHE SIDEWINDERTOTEM POLE

GARY’S NOTEBOOKBOY, WHAT A NIGHTHOCUS-POCUS

P 2012 Blue Note Records. Blue Note® is a registered trademark of Capitol Records, LLC. g 2012 Blue Note Records. All Rights Reserved.

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HIGH RESOLUTION MASTERING BYALAN YOSHIDA AND ROBIN LYNNAT BLANCHE DUBOIS, JULY 2012

LEE MORGAN

From dwelling in the depths ofdespairing obscurity to being thecelebrated champion of a new style ofjazz, trumpeter Lee Morgan paved theway for the popularity of the ‘60s soul-jazz phenomenon with his catchy 10-minute gem, “The Sidewinder.” Whileall sorts of innovations in jazz werebeing distilled at the time—from MilesDavis’s new-styled quintet to JohnColtrane’s classic quartet—the brewingof boogaloo came of age through thetrumpeter’s distinctive voice andupbeat, funky original compositions. Recorded in 1963 at Rudy VanGelder’s studio and released thefollowing year, “The Sidewinder,” thelead-off number of Morgan’s Blue Notealbum of the same name, became acrossover hit that in edited form becamea high-charting single and even gotscooped up by the automaker Chryslerfor a TV commercial (used withoutpermission or compensation, the ad wassoon yanked). The tune, with a simple—and listener accessible—24-bar bluestheme, was omnipresent on theairwaves and in jukeboxes. Not badconsidering that the label initially issuedonly 4,000 copies of The Sidewinder.Purportedly, the first album pressing soldout within days. A significant back story: Morgan hadrecorded as a hard-bop leader withBlue Note in his first round ofassociation with the label from the mid-

‘50s to early ‘60s. The rising trumpeterstar, who came up under the wings ofDizzy Gillespie in his not-long-for-this-world big band, broke onto therecording scene with his 1956 debutLee Morgan Indeed! at the age of 18(with no original compositions) andconcluded in 1960 with Lee-Way (oneoriginal, tit led “The Lion and theWolff,” in honor of the label’s owners,Alfred Lion and Francis Wolf f).Meanwhile, Morgan solidified his BlueNote standing as a member of ArtBlakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he

was encouraged by the drummer tocontribute compositions to the band.However, Morgan came crashingdown and was forced into exile—fromhis New York base to his Philadelphiahometown—because of his addictionto heroine. When Morgan returned to New York,in 1963 he rejoined the Blue Note ranks,first as sideman for albums recorded byHank Mobley and Grachan Moncur III,and then once again as a full-fledgedleader. His rebound recording was TheSidewinder—with a young and future-

THE SIDEWINDER

star support team, comprising tenorsaxophonist Joe Henderson, pianistBarry Harris, bassist Bob Cranshaw anddrummer Billy Higgins—that turned outto be his most commercial success.Rumor has it, via his friend drummer

Billy Hart, that the title track was “filler.”Filler indeed. The near-perfect dance-friendly tune and the rest of the albumtracks taken as a whole are seminal,ushering in what turned out to wave afterwave of oftentimes futile attempts toemulate—and even replicate. The Sidewinder features a revitalizedand energized Morgan, who penned

all five of the pieces—none of them inthe ballad zone. The leadoff, of course,is the skip-and-bounce hit withCranshaw’s bass riff opening the show.Morgan slurs and plays clarion on thetrumpet and also takes a fast bluesy run

to lead the charge followed by thepassing of the solo baton, first withHenderson’s tenor sax gusto, thenHarris’s grooving break andCranshaw’s dark-toned pulsings. Therhythm section is key as are theindelible melodic line shared byMorgan and Henderson. The boogaloo bash continues with

the swinging “Totem Pole,” teemingwith rousing improvisation; the upbeatblues-steeped “Gary’s Notebook,”with Morgan and Henderson playfullyswirling around each other in the head;the ¾ time caper “Boy, What a Night”with spirited band member chatter inthe background; and the straight-ahead flow of “Hocus-Pocus,” whereHiggins gets to tumble while the hornsplay out the melody. In subsequent years, many tried tocapture Morgan’s special soul-jazzessence, which Blue Note encouraged,but The Sidewinder broke the seal andmade its mark as a milestone albumthat stands the test of time. It resurrectedMorgan’s career, re-established him asone of jazz’s top trumpeters andinspired him to continue his prolificcareer, which at the age of 33 wastragically cut short as a result of analtercation with his wife at an EastVillage club. But “The Sidewinder”—ironically named not for the snake, buta TV villain—dances on, full of funk andsoul and the playful spirit that Morganbrought to his second coming-out partywith Blue Note. It came out of the blue,totally unexpected, but listening now,it’s as if the tune and the album wereordained to light a spark for thedecade—and beyond.

—Dan Ouellette, 2012