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FIVE STARS. The recording was excellent. This CD must be part of the collection of any jazz lover. All the musicians are at their peak.
And Billy Higgins on drums with a bluesy plucked bass of Bob Cranshaw. Jazz lovers who like trumpet, pay heed to Lee Morgan on Sidewinder. You gotta, just gotta, listen to this savory, riff-rich jazz. A quintet who produce some very, very tasty sounds. And kick back just to enjoy the fine piano work of Detroit's master, Barry Harris. Barry comps behind Lee and Joe Henderson's tenor sax like you wouldn't believe.
In fact, "Totem Pole" is probably the most sophisticated and interesting tune and "Gary's Notebook" is also quite inventive. The Sidewinder is certainly Lee Morgan's most famous album. The sound of the RVG remastering is very clear with plenty of bass and cymbals so that you can hear all the music behind the soloists. "Boy, What a Night" cranks up the heat for a waltz and "Hocus-Pocus" closes the album in a relaxed mood.Morgan is outstanding on trumpet throughout and Joe Henderson is just as good on tenor sax. The title track was a smash hit at the time and was even featured in a Chrysler TV commercial during the 1965 World Series. And it has sold well ever since.While the funky title track is highly enjoyable, the other 4 tunes and alternate take of "Totem Pole" are equally outstanding and full of the blues.
I LOVE the music on this CD.Lee Morgan was fantastic on this album.Unfortunately,I can't listen to this disc or any other that Rudy Van Gelder re-mastered during the later stages of his career.I have a very good 2 channel stereo system(Nad C325BEE integrated amp,NAD C515BEE Cd player and Polk Audio Monitor 70 3-way tower speakers).These speakers are well balanced in tone and VERY neutral and NATURAL sounding.EVERYTHING I have played on this system sounds GREAT except for the two BlueNote cd's I recently purchased that were re-mastered by Rudy Van Gelder.I think he was starting to lose his hearing in this later stage of his life and the ability to hear the higher register sounds is usually the first to go.The cymbals are way TOO BRIGHT just like the horns in the upper registers.Very harsh and grating.It's like someone drawing their nails across a chalk board.I will NEVER buy another CD that was re-mastered by RVG for Bluenote later in his life.Anyone who has a good sound system with revealing speakers should avoid all these later Bluenote discs that were re-mastered by RVG.What a shame.
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. This CD belongs in any serious jazz fan's library, and it would certainly add something to the casual jazz listener's library too. 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). 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. 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. 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.
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