“Sidewinder”
Song by Ray Charles
Ray Charles’ take on Lee Morgan’s instrumental jazz hit “Sidewinder” features ultra-tight rhythm and an altogether poppier arrangement than the 1964 original. It’s funky, almost violently so at times, and there is some nice syncopation in its solos.
Lee Morgan was a trumpet player who recorded the song, which he called “The Sidewinder”, in December 1963. It was over ten minutes long, and featured a simple 24-bar structure which repeated underneath the various soloists. (Famously, one part of the otherwise familiar structure featured an unusual detour into a minor chord.) It was released on two sides of a single and was a big hit. Legend has it that Morgan had recorded it as a throwaway piece of filler and was surprised that it was such a hit; however, this is undercut somewhat by the fact that he named his album The Sidewinder as well.
At any rate, like its title Ray Charles’ version is shorter – under four minutes – and was the last song on Side 1 of the 1970 LP My Kind Of Jazz; it was also used as a single B-side. From the outset, the band is in a rigid rhythmic mode: each bar requires two consecutive blasts of notes, short and sharp shocks, BAP! BAP! On this spiky frame the rest of the performance is hung.
The original, called “The Sidewinder”, was the title track of trumpeter Lee Morgan’s famous 1964 jazz album.
Besides its jagged pulse, “Sidewinder” is distinguished by the low parps of its bass and a sleazy sax. They contrast with the saxophone and trumpet solos, which stay in the higher registers, as does a section where Ray’s staccato piano solo interacts with a big, bending wall of brass. With the beat being kept so steadily and forcefully throughout, the sax and trumpet bounce off the 2-3 beats of the band and establish some captivating counter-rhythms.
Like a slinky snake, “Sidewinder” moves mysteriously and inevitably through the underbrush, with more going on in the details than first appears.
Quincy Jones wrote some exceedingly offhand liner notes for My Kind Of Jazz, and this song is one of only two on this LP that he specifically mentions by name:
Let’s forget about these liner notes – it’s not like I’m a writer – and go listen to “Sidewinder.” Because Mr. Charles’ band is back in town!
As on the album’s surprise hit “Booty Butt” (the other song Quincy mentioned in the liner notes), the band has been instructed to vocalize at times during “Sidewinder” – this time, humorous and wordless objections to the impending end of the song, reminiscent of everyone’s feigned disappointment in the middle of “What’d I Say” that convinces Ray to continue.
But “Sidewinder” does indeed end here, having made its case for existing as an excellent slice of pop-jazz with intense rhythmic jabs and some particularly loose soloing. It may not be as sophisticated as some of Ray’s other jazz excursions, even some on the this same LP, but it’s fun and endlessly enjoyable nonetheless.
Minutiae for Ray Charles nerds
“Sidewinder” can be found both on copies of My Kind Of Jazz and on the “Booty Butt” single. The album was credited to Ray Charles, but the single to The Ray Charles Orchestra.
Single releases
Listen to “Sidewinder”
Get your own “Sidewinder” on 45, LP, CD or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the out-of-print complete ABC singles 5xCD box set.
Songs on My Kind Of Jazz