Lee Morgan


ANybody own Lee Morgan's "the SIdewinder?"///any thoughtS? Is this as good as his stuff with the Messengers?
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yes- absolutely- 'The Sidewinder' is the classic from Morgan. Also great are 'Search For the New Land', and 'The Rumproller'.
I have "Sidewinder," a great LP. The old Blue Note (#4157) from 61st street NYC, was bought used and is pretty noisy.

My new copy, Blue Note (#46137) was pressed in 1997 by Capital Records and is dead quiet.

Lee's earlier LP titled "Candy," is also excellent. It was also on Blue Note (BLP 1590 for the original) and (BST 81590 for the Capital re-release).

Both of these are excellent, finding them on LP is possible and if CD is your goal, it should be no problem at all.
Yes, 'The Sidewinder' is an excellent recording and a legitimate classic. 'Search for the New Land' is an AWESOME performance as well (in particular, the title track). I also enjoy his 'Live at the Lighthouse' recordings from the early '70's.
FWIW, The Sidewinder was the best selling album ever from the classic blue note era. If you enjoy his work with the Jazz Messengers this is a no brainer
I've never found "Sidewinder" to be as compelling as much of Lee Morgan's other work. "Search for the New Land", "The Procrastinator", "Cornbread, "Lee Morgan Vol. 3", "Lee Morgan/Last Session"; most anything he did with Blakey; Joe Henderson's "Mode for Joe"; and Wayne Shorter's "Night Dreamer" are Lee Morgan recordings that I prefer and that readily come to mind.
For String fans, Turtle Island String Quartet does a great Sidewinder. BTW, also a big LM fan!
I don't think that Lee Morgan has ever had a weak performance. There is a live recording of him playing "Willow Weep for Me"--some European label--that really captures the spirit and energy of his improv skills. I would mention the recording, but it's awful. The performance, however, is nothing short of awesome!