Lee Morgan

The Sidewinder is the title track of Lee Morgan's Blue Note album recorded in 1963 and released in 1964. Its soul-jazz groove made it one of Blue Note's rare crossover hits.

Yes, Lee Morgan was a major Jazz Messengers trumpeter and appeared with Art Blakey on recordings such as Moanin'. That late 1950s group helped define the hard bop sound.

Morgan recorded many of his best-known leader dates for Blue Note, including The Sidewinder, Search for the New Land, and Cornbread. Blue Note's Alfred Lion helped document his sound from the 1950s into the 1960s.

Lee Morgan died in New York in 1972 after being shot at Slugs' Saloon, a jazz club on the Lower East Side. He was only 33, which is why his discography feels both large and abruptly unfinished.