The Sidewinder — Chord Changes & Harmonic Analysis
- Composer:
- Lee Morgan
- Year:
- 1963
- Key:
- Eb major
- Form:
- AABA (32 bars)
- Style:
- Hard Bop
- Tempo:
- 120–160 BPM
A funky boogaloo tune that became a surprise hit. Lee Morgan's infectious groove and simple blues-based changes made this one of Blue Note's biggest commercial successes, crossing over to R&B radio.
About This Standard
Composed by trumpeter Lee Morgan and recorded for his landmark Blue Note album of the same name in 1963, The Sidewinder was a surprise commercial hit that crossed over to mainstream audiences. Its funky boogaloo rhythm — a fusion of jazz with soul and Latin dance music — made it one of the most commercially successful hard bop recordings and helped inspire the soul jazz movement.
Notable recordings:
- Lee Morgan — The Sidewinder (1963)
- Widely covered — (soul jazz standard)
Chord Changes
Notation
Harmonic Analysis
The Sidewinder is a 24-bar blues in Eb major (with an unusual 6-bar extension on the IV chord) played with a funky boogaloo groove that combines jazz swing with a Latin two-bar clave pattern. The extended 24-bar form — where the IV chord (Ab7) is held for 6 bars instead of the usual 2 — gives the tune its distinctive, drawn-out feel. The simple I7→IV7→V7 blues changes support the groove-oriented, call-and-response improvisational style that made the boogaloo rhythm so infectious.