Jackie McLean
Encyclopedia
John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz
alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City
.
in Tiny Bradshaw
's orchestra. After his father's death in 1939, Jackie's musical education was continued by his godfather, his record-store-owning stepfather, and several noted teachers. He also received informal tutoring from neighbors Thelonious Monk
, Bud Powell
, and Charlie Parker
. During high school he played in a band with Kenny Drew
, Sonny Rollins
, and Andy Kirk Jr. (the tenor saxophonist son of Andy Kirk
).
Along with Rollins, he played on Miles Davis
' Dig
album, when he was 19 years old. As a young man McLean also recorded with Gene Ammons
, Charles Mingus
, George Wallington
, and as a member of Art Blakey
's Jazz Messengers. McLean joined Blakey after reportedly being punched by the volatile Mingus. Fearing for his life, McLean pulled out a knife and contemplated using it against Mingus in self-defense. He later stated that he was grateful that he did not stab the bassist.
His early recordings as leader were in the hard bop
school. He later became an exponent of modal jazz
without abandoning his foundation in hard bop. Throughout his career he was known for a distinctive tone, akin to the tenor saxophone and often described with such adjectives as withering, piercing, or searing; a slightly sharp pitch; and a strong foundation in the blues
.
McLean was a heroin addict throughout his early career, and the resulting loss of his New York City
cabaret card forced him to undertake a large number of recording dates; consequently, he produced an extensive body of recorded work in the 1950s and 1960s. He was under contract with Blue Note Records
from 1959 to 1967, having previously recorded for Prestige
. Blue Note offered better pay and more artistic control than other labels, and his work for this organization is highly regarded and includes leadership and sideman dates with a wide range of musicians, including Donald Byrd
, Sonny Clark
, Lee Morgan
, Ornette Coleman
, Dexter Gordon
, Billy Higgins
, Freddie Hubbard
, Grachan Moncur III
, Bobby Hutcherson
, Mal Waldron
, and many others.
In 1962 he recorded Let Freedom Ring
for Blue Note. This album was the culmination of attempts he had made over the years to deal with harmonic problems in jazz, incorporating ideas from the free jazz
developments of Ornette Coleman
. Emblematic of his stylistic growth is the solo on his piece "Quadrangle" as compared to the version of the same tune on BST 4051, Jackie's Bag
, recorded in 1959. Let Freedom Ring began a period in which he performed with avant-garde jazz
musicians rather than the veteran hard bop
performers he had been playing with previously. His adaptation of modal jazz
and free jazz innovations to his vision of hard bop made his recordings from 1962 on distinctive. In early 1964, he served six months in prison on drug charges.
McLean recorded with dozens of well-known musicians and had a gift for spotting talent. Saxophonist Tina Brooks
, trumpeter Charles Tolliver
, pianist Larry Willis
, trumpeter Bill Hardman
, and tubist Ray Draper
were among those who benefited from McLean's support in the 1950s and 1960s. Drummers such as Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette
, Lenny White
, Michael Carvin
, and Carl Allen
gained important early experience with McLean.
In 1967, his recording contract, like those of many other progressive musicians, was terminated by Blue Note's new management. His opportunities to record promised so little pay that he abandoned recording as a way to earn a living, concentrating instead on touring. In 1968, he began teaching at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford
. He later set up the university's African American Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies program.
In 1970, he and his wife, Dollie McLean, founded the Artists Collective, Inc. of Hartford, an organization dedicated to preserving the art and culture of the African Diaspora
. It provides educational programs and instruction in dance, theatre, music and visual arts. The membership of McLean's later bands were drawn from his students in Hartford, including Steve Davis
and his son René
, who is a jazz saxophonist and flautist as well as a jazz educator. Also, in McLean's Hartford group was Mark Berman
, the jazz pianist and broadway conductor of Smokey Joe's Cafe and Rent. In 1979 he reached #53 in the UK Singles Chart
with "Doctor Jackyll and Mister Funk".
He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
in 2001 and numerous other national and international awards. McLean was the only American jazz musician to found a department of studies at a University and a community based organization almost simultaneously. Each has existed for over three decades.
After a long illness, McLean died on March 31, 2006, in Hartford, Connecticut
.
Blue Note
SteepleChase
Others
With Art Blakey
With Kenny Burrell
With Donald Byrd
With Sonny Clark
With Miles Davis
With Walter Davis Jr.
With Kenny Dorham
With Ray Draper
With Charles Mingus
With Hank Mobley
With Grachan Moncur III
With Lee Morgan
With Freddie Redd
With Jimmy Smith
With Art Taylor
With Mal Waldron
With Jack Wilson
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Biography
McLean's father, John Sr., played guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
in Tiny Bradshaw
Tiny Bradshaw
Myron C. Bradshaw was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist, and drummer from Youngstown, Ohio.-Early years:...
's orchestra. After his father's death in 1939, Jackie's musical education was continued by his godfather, his record-store-owning stepfather, and several noted teachers. He also received informal tutoring from neighbors Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, and Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
. During high school he played in a band with Kenny Drew
Kenny Drew
Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:Born in New York City, New York, he first recorded with Howard McGhee in 1949, and over the next two years recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Coleman Hawkins, Milt Jackson, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, and Dinah Washington...
, Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, and Andy Kirk Jr. (the tenor saxophonist son of Andy Kirk
Andy Kirk
Andrew Dewey Kirk was a jazz saxophonist and tubist best known as a bandleader of the "Twelve Clouds of Joy," popular during the swing era....
).
Along with Rollins, he played on Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
' Dig
Dig (Miles Davis album)
Dig is an album by Miles Davis on Prestige Records, catalogue number 7012. Initially released in the ten-inch format in 1951, Dig was later reissued as a twelve-inch LP with additional tracks...
album, when he was 19 years old. As a young man McLean also recorded with Gene Ammons
Gene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
, Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, George Wallington
George Wallington
George Wallington was a highly regarded American bop pianist and composer....
, and as a member of Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's Jazz Messengers. McLean joined Blakey after reportedly being punched by the volatile Mingus. Fearing for his life, McLean pulled out a knife and contemplated using it against Mingus in self-defense. He later stated that he was grateful that he did not stab the bassist.
His early recordings as leader were in the hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
school. He later became an exponent of modal jazz
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
without abandoning his foundation in hard bop. Throughout his career he was known for a distinctive tone, akin to the tenor saxophone and often described with such adjectives as withering, piercing, or searing; a slightly sharp pitch; and a strong foundation in the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
.
McLean was a heroin addict throughout his early career, and the resulting loss of his New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
cabaret card forced him to undertake a large number of recording dates; consequently, he produced an extensive body of recorded work in the 1950s and 1960s. He was under contract with Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
from 1959 to 1967, having previously recorded for Prestige
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
. Blue Note offered better pay and more artistic control than other labels, and his work for this organization is highly regarded and includes leadership and sideman dates with a wide range of musicians, including Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
, Sonny Clark
Sonny Clark
Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.-Biography:...
, Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
, Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
, Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
, Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
, Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
, and many others.
In 1962 he recorded Let Freedom Ring
Let Freedom Ring
Let Freedom Ring is an album by jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean, recorded in 1962 and released on Blue Note.McLean wrote three of the four compositions. "Melody for Melonae" is dedicated to his daughter , and appeared as "Melanie" on Matador, a later recording that he made with Kenny Dorham...
for Blue Note. This album was the culmination of attempts he had made over the years to deal with harmonic problems in jazz, incorporating ideas from the free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
developments of Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
. Emblematic of his stylistic growth is the solo on his piece "Quadrangle" as compared to the version of the same tune on BST 4051, Jackie's Bag
Jackie's Bag
Jackie's Bag is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "the music on Jackie's Bag finds McLean in a staunchly hard bop mode, with occasional hints...
, recorded in 1959. Let Freedom Ring began a period in which he performed with avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
musicians rather than the veteran hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
performers he had been playing with previously. His adaptation of modal jazz
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
and free jazz innovations to his vision of hard bop made his recordings from 1962 on distinctive. In early 1964, he served six months in prison on drug charges.
McLean recorded with dozens of well-known musicians and had a gift for spotting talent. Saxophonist Tina Brooks
Tina Brooks
Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and composer.-Early years:Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was the brother of David "Bubba" Brooks. The nickname "Tina", pronounced Teena, was a slight variation of "Teeny", a childhood moniker....
, trumpeter Charles Tolliver
Charles Tolliver
Charles Tolliver is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Tolliver was born in Jacksonville, Florida, where, as a child, he received his first trumpet as a gift from his grandmother. He attended Howard University in the early 1960s as a pharmacy student, when he decided to pursue music as a...
, pianist Larry Willis
Larry Willis
Lawrence Elliott Willis is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion rock music, Bebop and Avant-Garde...
, trumpeter Bill Hardman
Bill Hardman
William Franklin Hardman, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop.-Biography:...
, and tubist Ray Draper
Ray Draper
Raymond Allen Draper was an American hard bop tuba player.-Biography:Draper attended the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-1950s. As a leader, he recorded his first album, Tuba Sounds , at the age of 16, with a quintet...
were among those who benefited from McLean's support in the 1950s and 1960s. Drummers such as Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
, Michael Carvin
Michael Carvin
Michael W. Carvin is an American jazz drummer. He has performed with Mickey Bass, Charles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, B. B. King, Jackie McLean, Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Liston Smith, and Clive Stevens.- Notes :...
, and Carl Allen
Carl Allen (drummer)
Carl Allen is an American jazz drummer.He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, George Coleman and Phil Woods. and the Benny Green Trio....
gained important early experience with McLean.
In 1967, his recording contract, like those of many other progressive musicians, was terminated by Blue Note's new management. His opportunities to record promised so little pay that he abandoned recording as a way to earn a living, concentrating instead on touring. In 1968, he began teaching at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
. He later set up the university's African American Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies program.
In 1970, he and his wife, Dollie McLean, founded the Artists Collective, Inc. of Hartford, an organization dedicated to preserving the art and culture of the African Diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. It provides educational programs and instruction in dance, theatre, music and visual arts. The membership of McLean's later bands were drawn from his students in Hartford, including Steve Davis
Steve Davis (trombonist)
Steve Davis is an American jazz trombonist who plays hard bop, post-bop, and standards. His primary influences are J. J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane.Davis was raised in...
and his son René
René McLean
René McLean is a hard bop saxophonist and flutist. He was born in New York City. He started playing guitar later received his alto saxophone, also had instruction from his father, noted alto saxophonist Jackie McLean....
, who is a jazz saxophonist and flautist as well as a jazz educator. Also, in McLean's Hartford group was Mark Berman
Mark Berman
Mark Berman is a New York City pianist, composer, producer, conductor, music director and arranger.-Music career:Berman has performed with Aretha Franklin, Blood Sweat & Tears, Carole King, Gladys Knight, Hugh Jackman, Illinois Jacquet, Ben E King, Jackie McLean, Cornelius Bumpus, Buster...
, the jazz pianist and broadway conductor of Smokey Joe's Cafe and Rent. In 1979 he reached #53 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
with "Doctor Jackyll and Mister Funk".
He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
in 2001 and numerous other national and international awards. McLean was the only American jazz musician to found a department of studies at a University and a community based organization almost simultaneously. Each has existed for over three decades.
After a long illness, McLean died on March 31, 2006, in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
.
As leader
Prestige- Lights Out! (1956)
- 4, 5 and 6 (1956)
- Alto Madness (1957)
- McLean's Scene (1957)
- "Jackie McLean & Co" (1957)
Blue Note
- New SoilNew SoilNew Soil is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "New Soil wasn't the first session Jackie McLean recorded for Blue Note, but it was the first one...
(1959) - Swing, Swang, Swingin'Swing, Swang, Swingin'Swing, Swang, Swingin' is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label. It was released on CD only in Japan.-Reception:...
(1959) - Capuchin SwingCapuchin SwingCapuchin Swing is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "One of McLean's more underrated albums from a plethora of Blue Note releases, 1960's Capuchin...
(1960) - Jackie's BagJackie's BagJackie's Bag is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "the music on Jackie's Bag finds McLean in a staunchly hard bop mode, with occasional hints...
(1959–60) - BluesnikBluesnikBluesnik is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Many critics-as well as jazz fans hold to the opinion that Bluesnik may be McLean's most accessible...
(1961) - A Fickle SonanceA Fickle SonanceA Fickle Sonance is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Al Campbell awarded the album 3 stars and stated -Track listing:...
(1961) - Let Freedom RingLet Freedom RingLet Freedom Ring is an album by jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean, recorded in 1962 and released on Blue Note.McLean wrote three of the four compositions. "Melody for Melonae" is dedicated to his daughter , and appeared as "Melanie" on Matador, a later recording that he made with Kenny Dorham...
(1962) - Tippin' the ScalesTippin' the ScalesTippin' the Scales is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1962 but first released on the Japanese Blue Note label in 1979 and finally released in the U.S. in 1984...
(1962) - VertigoVertigo (Jackie McLean album)Vertigo' is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1962 and 1963 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980. The original 1980 release contained only the five tracks from 1963 but the later 2000 CD release added six tracks from the 1962 session originally marked for...
(1962–63) - One Step BeyondOne Step Beyond (Jackie McLean album)One Step Beyond is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. The CD contains one alternate take as a bonus track.-Reception:...
(1963) - Destination... Out!Destination... Out!Destination... Out! is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 5 stars and stated "Of all of McLean's Blue Note dates, so many of which are classic jazz recordings, Destination...
(1963) - It's Time!It's Time! (Jackie McLean album)It's Time! is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label.-Track listing:# "Cancellation" - 7:45# "Das' Dat" - 6:26# "It's Time" - 6:35# "Revillot" - 7:51...
(1964) - Action Action ActionAction Action ActionAction Action Action is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(1964) - Right Now!Right Now! (Jackie McLean album)Right Now! is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1965 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Altoist McLean was at the peak of his powers during this period and, inspired by the versatile...
(1965) - JacknifeJacknife (album)Jacknife is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1965 but not released until 1975 on the Blue Note label. The album was initially released as a double LP containing sessions from 1965 and 1966 but the single CD release only contains those tracks from 1965.-Reception:The...
(1965) - ConsequenceConsequence (album)Consequence is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1965 but not released until 1979 as part of a Mosaic Records box set and finally released on the Blue Note label in 2005.-Reception:...
(1965) - New and Old GospelNew and Old GospelNew and Old Gospel is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 5 stars and stated "This is one legendary Blue Note date that isn't mentioned often enough in that label's great...
(1967) - 'Bout Soul'Bout SoulBout Soul is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and stated "This is intensely cerebral music that is nevertheless played with a fiery passion....
(1967) - Demon's DanceDemon's DanceDemon's Dance is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1967 for Blue Note, but not released until 1970.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "The record retreats a bit from McLean's nearly free playing on New and Old Gospel and Bout...
(1967) - One Night with Blue Note Preserved Volume 2 (1985) with Woody ShawWoody ShawWoody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage...
, McCoy TynerMcCoy TynerMcCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...
, Cecil McBeeCecil McBeeCecil McBee is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".-Biography:McBee...
and Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny... - It's About TimeIt's About Time (McCoy Tyner & Jackie McLean album)It's About Time is a 1985 album by McCoy Tyner and Jackie McLean, the first released on the re-established Blue Note label. It was recorded in April 1985 and features performances by Tyner and McLean with Jon Faddis, Ron Carter, Al Foster, Marcus Miller, and Steve Thornton...
(1985) with McCoy TynerMcCoy TynerMcCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:... - Hat Trick (1996)
- Fire & Love (1998)
- Nature Boy (2000)
SteepleChase
- Ode to Super (1973)
- Dr. Jackle (1979; recorded 1966)
- Contour (1980)
- Strange Blues (1990)
- Makin The Changes (1990)
- Dynasty (1990)
- A Long Drink Of The Blues ( 1994)
Others
- The Jackie Mac Attack Live (1991)
- Rhythm Of The Earth (1992) Dreyfus
As sideman
With Gene AmmonsGene Ammons
Eugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
- The Happy Blues (1956)
- Jammin' with Gene (1956)
- Funky (1957)
- Jammin' in Hi Fi (1957)
With Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
- Hard Bop (1956)
- Drum Suite (1956)
- Ritual (1957)
With Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
- 2 Guitars with Jimmy RaneyJimmy RaneyJimmy Raney was an American jazz guitarist born in Louisville, Kentucky most notable for his work from 1951–1952 and 1962–1963 with Stan Getz and for his work from 1953–1954 with the Red Norvo trio, replacing Tal Farlow. In 1954 and 1955 he won the Down Beat critics poll for guitar...
(1957)
With Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
- 2 Trumpets with Art FarmerArt FarmerArthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
(1956) - Off to the RacesOff to the RacesOff to the Races is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1958 and released on the Blue Note label in 1959 as BLP 4007.-Reception:...
(1958) - FuegoFuego (Donald Byrd album)Fuego is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4026 featuring Byrd with Jackie McLean, Duke Pearson, Doug Watkins, and Lex Humphries.-Reception:...
(1959) - Byrd in FlightByrd in FlightByrd in Flight is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4048 featuring Byrd with Jackie McLean or Hank Mobley, Duke Pearson, Doug Watkins or Reggie Workman, and Lex Humphries.-Reception:...
(1960)
With Sonny Clark
Sonny Clark
Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.-Biography:...
- Cool Struttin'Cool Struttin'Cool Struttin' is a 1958 album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark. Described as an "enduring hard-bop classic" by the New York Times, the album features alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Art Farmer and two members of the Miles Davis Quintet, drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers...
(1958)
With Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
- DigDig (Miles Davis album)Dig is an album by Miles Davis on Prestige Records, catalogue number 7012. Initially released in the ten-inch format in 1951, Dig was later reissued as a twelve-inch LP with additional tracks...
(1951) - Quintet / SextetQuintet / SextetQuintet/Sextet is an album which compiles recordings made for Prestige Records on 5 August 1955 by Miles Davis. Credited to "Miles Davis and Milt Jackson", this was an "all-star" session, and did not feature any of the members of Davis's working group of the time...
(1955)
With Walter Davis Jr.
- Davis CupDavis Cup (album)Davis Cup is the debut album by American pianist Walter Davis Jr. featuring performances recorded in 1959 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(1959)
With Kenny Dorham
Kenny Dorham
McKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
- Inta Somethin'Inta Somethin'Inta Somethin' is an live album by American jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham featuring performances recorded at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco in 1961 and released on the Pacific Jazz label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4½ stars....
(1961) - MatadorMatador (Kenny Dorham album)Matador is an album by American jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham featuring performances recorded in 1962 and released on the United Artists label.-Reception:...
(1962)
With Ray Draper
Ray Draper
Raymond Allen Draper was an American hard bop tuba player.-Biography:Draper attended the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-1950s. As a leader, he recorded his first album, Tuba Sounds , at the age of 16, with a quintet...
- Tuba Sounds (1957)
With Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Pithecanthropus Erectus (1956)
- Blues and Roots (1958)
With Hank Mobley
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
- Mobley's MessageMobley's MessageMobley's Message is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley, released on the Prestige label in 1956. It was recorded on July 20, 1956 and features performances by Mobley, Donald Byrd, Barry Harris, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor, with Jackie McLean guesting on one track.- Track listing :All...
(1956) - Hi VoltageHi Voltage- Track listing :# "High Voltage" - 8:09# "Two and One" - 6:09# "No More Goodbyes" - 5:41# "Advance Notion" - 5:57# "Bossa De Luxe" - 7:31# "Flirty Gerty" - 7:00*Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 9, 1967- Personnel :...
(1967)
With Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
- EvolutionEvolution (Grachan Moncur III album)Evolution is the debut album by American trombonist Grachan Moncur III recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "With such an inventive debut, it's a shame Moncur didn't record more as a leader, which...
(1963)
With Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
- Lee-WayLee-WayLeeway is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on April 28, 1960 and features performances by Morgan with Jackie McLean, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey....
(1960) - Tom CatTom Cat (album)Tom Cat is an album by Lee Morgan recorded in 1964, though not released until 1981. It was originally released as LT 1058, and issued with several other catalogue numbers ever since...
(1964) - CornbreadCornbread (album)Cornbread is an jazz album by trumpeter Lee Morgan, released on the Blue Note label in 1966. It features performances by Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Billy Higgins, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley and Larry Ridley.-Track listing:...
(1965) - InfinityInfinity (Lee Morgan album)Infinity is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on November 16, 1965 but not released until 1980 and features performances by Morgan with a quintet featuring Jackie McLean, Larry Willis, Reggie Workman and Billy Higgins.-Reception:The Allmusic...
(1965) - CharismaCharisma (album)Charisma is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded on September 29, 1966 and features performances by Morgan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Billy Higgins.-Reception:...
(1966) - The Sixth Sense (1967)
With Freddie Redd
Freddie Redd
Freddie Redd is an American hard bop pianist and composer.His greatest success came in the late 1950s in the play and movie The Connection, in which he both played and acted in New York City, London, and Paris. He also played on the soundtrack album...
- The ConnectionThe Connection (Soundtrack)The Connection is an album of music composed for Jack Gelber's 1959 play of the same name by jazz pianist Freddie Redd which was released on the Blue Note label in 1960...
(1960) - Shades of ReddShades of ReddShades of Redd is an album by American pianist Freddie Redd recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 5 stars and stated "In an all too small discography, Freddie Redd's Shades of Redd is without a doubt his crowning...
(1960) - Redd's BluesRedd's BluesRedd's Blues is an album by American pianist Freddie Redd recorded in 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1988.-Reception:...
(1961)
With Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
- Open HouseOpen House (album)Open House is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith featuring performances recorded in 1960, but not released on the Blue Note label until 1966...
(1960) - Plain TalkPlain Talk (album)Plain Talk is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith featuring performances recorded in 1960 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1968...
(1960)
With Art Taylor
Art Taylor
Arthur S. Taylor, Jr. was an American jazz drummer of the hard bop school.After playing in the bands of Howard McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Buddy DeFranco, Bud Powell, and George Wallington from 1948 to 1957, he formed his own group, the Wailers...
- Taylors Wailers (1957)
With Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
- Mal 2 (1957)
- Like Old Time (1976)
- Left Alone '86 (1986)
With Jack Wilson
Jack Wilson (jazz pianist)
Jack Wilson was an American jazz pianist and composer.-Early life:Wilson was born in Chicago on August 3, 1936, moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana at age seven. From 1949-54, he studied piano with Carl Atkinson at the Fort Wayne College of Music...
- Easterly WindsEasterly WindsEasterly Winds is an album by American jazz pianist Jack Wilson featuring performances recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1967.-Reception:...
(1967)
Filmography
- The ConnectionThe Connection (1961 film)The Connection is a 1961 feature film by the noted American experimental filmmaker Shirley Clarke. It was Clarke's first feature; she had made several shorts over the previous decade....
, as himself (Dir. Shirley ClarkeShirley ClarkeShirley Clarke was an American independent filmmaker.-Early life:Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, Shirley Clarke was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire Jewish manufacturer and inventor. Her...
) - Jackie McLean on Mars (1980), as himself (Dir. Ken Levis)
- Ken Burns' Jazz (2000), as himself (Dir. Ken BurnsKen BurnsKenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
)
Further reading
- Derek Ansell, Sugar Free Saxophone: The Life and Music of Jackie McLean. London: Northway Publications, 2012. ISBN 978-09557888-6-4
External links
- Jackie McLean complete discography from Music City
- Allmusic
- MusicWeb
- NEA Jazz Masters
- Official history of the Artists Collective Inc.
- History of the Artists Collective Inc.
- Jackie McLean on the Hard Bop Home Page
- Obituary in The Guardian (London) by John Fordham, April 3, 2006
- "Blues for Jackie," Obituary by Owen McNally in Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) April 1, 2006
- New England Jazz History Database - Audio Interviews
- Jazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives: Jackie McLean a radio documentary from WGBH Radio Boston