The Sidewinder

The Sidewinder, recorded in late 1963 and released in 1964, is a hard bop album with a strong soul jazz sensibility. Its title track is built around a propulsive, riff-driven boogaloo groove that foregrounds Lee Morgan's bright, blues-inflected trumpet and has a relaxed, danceable feel. The album pairs that soulful funkiness with straight-ahead hard bop improvisation across the band, featuring Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, and is often noted for its tight ensemble playing and accessible, groove-oriented sound.