Lee Morgan

French 1985 Reissue, Remastered, Stereo. Record very close to NM. Sleeve in beautiful condition bar some light discolouration on the front. The defining, career topping statement from the tragic trumpeter Lee Morgan was recorded on December 23rd 1963 by the great Rudy Van Gelder who has re-mastered the album for CD superbly to ensure that everything shines. Far and away Blue Note’s biggest seller, that success came as a surprise to label owner Albert Lion who at the time headed up an ailing company, but thanks to this album and others in the hard bop style it put Blue Note back on surer ground. Money also poured in from an unlikely and unexpected source with an edited version of the title track reaching the U.S Billboard charts, more accustomed to pop music. The Sidewinder has been sampled and covered multiple times too, almost instantly by Quincy Jones but perhaps most famously in The Skatalites reggae version, renamed as “Malcolm X”.