Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder

July 10 -- On this date in 1938, trumpeter Lee Morgan was born in Philadelphia. Having first come to prominence at eighteen years old as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's band, and soon thereafter by performing on John Coltrane's seminal "Blue Train" album, Morgan came up through the ranks of upper echelon bebop musicians to become one of the top two or three trumpeters on the scene in the 60s. His life was tragically cut short at thirty-three when he was shot and killed by his common-law wife as he performed on stage in New York City. By the time of his murder his career had suffered many ups and downs due to years of substance abuse and the shifting tastes of the public, but his place in the pantheon of jazz giants had already been long established. His best known recording is The Sidewinder, a soul-jazz classic heard here from the 1964 album of the same name. The tune became so popular that it cracked the pop charts and even made its way into a Cadillac commercial which aired during the Super Bowl. After Morgan's typically melodic and playful solo, Joe Henderson takes a memorable tenor saxophone solo.