Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder – 1964

What’s left to say about Lee Morgan’s most popular album, The Sidewinder? How about this: It is one FUN record. That’s capital F, capital U, capital N.

Anything wrong with that?

Sometimes it feels like all the fun has gone out of jazz. As if nothing can be Good unless it is Serious. As if muted Miles and spiritual Trane are the ultimate barometers of true jazz respectability. Hey, I love Miles and Trane and all the great, serious musicians who came before and since. But there is also room for music that simply makes you smile, tap your feet and shimmy your hips.

The Sidewinder is that record. In spades.

There’s the title cut, of course – 10 minutes of pure, unadulterated riff and groove. Who doesn’t love a great riff? The Beatles played great riffs. Jimi Hendrix played great riffs. Hell, Beethoven’s Fifth is arguably the greatest riff of all time. So to say “The Sidewinder” is just a lot of fun variations on a great soul-jazz riff is not to damn with faint praise. It’s a compliment.

The remaining four cuts (and one alternate take) are not quite as riffy, and definitely not in the same soul-jazz mode, but still a hell of a lot of fun.

Every track is upbeat and lively. Every track is clever and brash. And every track was written by Morgan himself – what a great composer! Morgan on trumpet and Joe Henderson on tenor are simply inspired. They can twist a tune every which way and make it sound original. Barry Harris on piano reminds me of Ramsey Lewis on “The In Crowd,” especially on the title cut. Not a huge surprise, since “The In Crowd” came out the same year, infected by the same Fun vibe.

Yes, Lee Morgan played Serious hard bop for many years before The Sidewinder. They are pretty great records, too, especially the ones with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. You can love Serious and Fun equally. I do. That dichotomy goes back as far as jazz itself. There was Serious Louis Armstrong and Fun Louis Armstrong – sometimes on the same record, and all of it sublime.

So yes, The Sidewinder is on the Fun side of jazz. But it is virtuoso fun, and head-nodding fun. It is the jazz equivalent of comfort food – but gourmet comfort food. Morgan spent years trying to recapture the magic and never quite got it. The Sidewinder is fun before it became mere formula. Get it.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Availability: Oodles and oodles of copies out there

Cost:  $9 new, $4 used, $5 for just the MP3s

Sabu Martinez: Palo Congo – 1957

1957 was a banner year for hard bop and Blue Note. In one year, the label released 40 albums, including classics from John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Bud Powell, Lou Donaldson, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin and eight by Jimmy Smith alone.

In the midst of all that hard bop, Blue Note released two percussion-based albums that were way off the beaten path. Art Blakey’s Orgy in Rhythm was a drum-fest of epic proportions. Sabu Martinez’s Palo Congo was a conga lover’s dream. Both are acquired tastes.

Palo Congo is a tough listen, at least at first. There are no melodies. The album features five conga players, a bunch of chanters and one guitar.

To Western ears, guitarist Arsenio Rodriguez is the easiest to relate to. His “Rhapsodia del Maravilloso” is five amazing minutes of Latin guitar improvisation. Yes, the congas are there in the background, but it’s Rodriguez’s astounding guitar that fascinates. If your only experience with Latin-tinged guitar is Carlos Santana, you’re missing something truly impressive.

But it’s a mistake to focus on Rodriguez, wonderful as he is. Most of Palo Congo is filled with complex polyrhythms and Spanish chants reminiscent of gospel call-and-response. This is genuine Afro-Cuban music and I don’t pretend to understand it all.

For many jazz fans – including me – the traditional Afro-Cuban reference point is Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo, especially their classic “Manteca,” also recorded in 1957. That tune is a real meld of American jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms, while Palo Congo is more Cuban than American (though Martinez himself is from New York City).

At first, to my ears, most of the album seemed noisy and repetitive. After several listens, I was enjoying it more. It will never be a favorite, just as Blakey’s Orgy in Rhythm will never find its way onto my best-of list. Both are ideal for fans of the genre, for folks that dig unusual percussion. I need a melody, at least as a jumping-off point, so that’s my limitation, not Martinez’s.

Palo Congo is highly recommended for fans of genuine Cuban music. For jazz lovers dipping their toes into Latin beats, it’s less accessible.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Availability: Good luck finding a new copy, but used ones are not hard to find

Cost: It’ll cost you a bit — $9 for a used CD, $30 or more for a new CD, but $7 for the MP3 files