S.g. Mclean

Altoist Jackie McLean has recorded so many fine albums throughout his career, particularly in the '60s for Blue Note, that Mosaic could have reissued his complete output without any loss of quality. This four-CD limited-edition box set contains six complete LPs worth of material plus one "new" alternate take…

Altoist Jackie McLean tended to downgrade his Prestige recordings due to the low pay, the little prior preparation, and the jam session feel of the music. Although all of the above is true, the music (while not on a par with his Blue Note recordings of the '60s) is still pretty worthy, particularly when compared to the output of his contemporaries. McLean never really copied Charlie Parker and was one of the first in his generation to develop his own sound. Three of the six selections on this LP (a pair of standards and a blues) feature McLean with trumpeter Bill Hardman, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Taylor…

Jackie McLean's Jacknife sessions have had a peculiar and somewhat disjointed history in his discography. Initially issued in 1975 on a vinyl two-fer as part of the Blue Note reissue series, it included separate, previously unreleased sessions from 1965 and 1966, the former with trumpeters Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver, the latter in a quartet with only McLean as the leading horn. This 1965 group has many worthwhile and often challenging moments for the then-33-year-old alto saxophonist.
Of the five tracks here, "On the Nile," at over 12-and-a-half minutes, should be a favorite, as its modern, mainstream modalism weaves Larry Willis' deep piano chords, Tolliver's evocative trumpet, and McLean's rich harmonizing…

Producer and record executive Joel Dorn (who worked with Don McLean previously on his 1974 album Homeless Brother) assembled this retrospective CD/DVD collection by going through McLean's archives. Although no indication is given of the sources of the material, a majority of it has been previously released, starting with the original hit recording of "American Pie," licensed from EMI Special Products. The rest of the collection dates from after 1976, when McLean, for the most part, controlled his own recordings, and there is a heavy complement from albums issued on his own Don McLean Records label, notably "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)," "Crying," "Homeless Brother," and "And I Love You So" (the last a duet with Nanci Griffith) from the live Starry Starry Night album; "El Paso" from Don McLean Sings Marty Robbins; "My Saddle Pals and I" from The Western Album; and "You've Got to Share" from You've Got to Share: Songs for Children. Previously unreleased tracks include McLean versions of the standards "Love Me Tender," "(It Was) A Very Good Year," and "TB Blues," and a McLean original, the Rolling Stones-like "Run, Diana Run."

It was an inspired idea to match alto saxophonist Jackie McLean with the Great Jazz Trio, a regularly working unit on record and in concert led by the outstanding pianist Hank Jones, joined by two first call players, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. Although the word "again" is added to McLean's two originals, the barnburner "Appointment in Ghana" and "Little Melonae," they aren't very different from earlier recordings in concept. McLean also shines in ballad settings of "It Never Entered My Mind" and "'Round Midnight." Jones' advanced playing may be a eye-opener for some fans who do not realize how advanced and wide ranging a pianist he is.

Makin' the Changes features altoist Jackie McLean in two different settings. On three selections - a rollicking "Bean and the Boys," an up-tempo "I Never Knew" and "I Hear a Rhapsody" - McLean teams up with pianist Mal Waldron in a quartet with bassist Arthur Phipps and drummer Art Taylor. The other three numbers ("What's New," "Chasin' the Bird" and McLean's original "Jackie's Ghost") have more of a jam session feel, and feature McLean in a sextet with trumpeter Webster Young, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Gil Coggins, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Louis Hayes. In general, the hard bop music is swinging and fairly advanced, a step above the usual jam sessions of the time.

With a lineup of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Doug Watkins, pianist Kenny Drew, and drummer Pete La Roca, McLean laid down a hard blowing session of six tunes based completely on blues motifs. Many critics - as well as jazz fans - hold to the opinion that Bluesnik may be McLean's most accessible session for the label. That said, not all of these tunes are blues numbers strictly speaking. They use blues forms, but don't all fall into the conventional 12-bar structure, and therefore even move hard bop paradigms a bit. The title track opening the set is a prime example of this given that it quotes the theme in 12-bar but moves through a knotty ten-bar sequence before roaring into a furious but fluid cut time structure that allows for a maximum "stretching" of the changes by Drew…

The year 2000 saw the release of a Blue Note CD featuring Jackie McLean that presented the alto saxophone master in a new perspective. Normally a firebrand, McLean banks the embers on this one to create a sound more mellow than his fans have heard in the past. But something is gained in the slow burn, and beautiful music is the beneficiary on this collection of jazz standards. McLean is joined in his endeavor by three of the top musicians in his trade: Cedar Walton on piano, David Williams on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. This impeccable aggregation is definitely up to the task of reining in the edgy side of McLean's playing, as they engage in a musical dialogue and trade off solo riffs…