Don Mclean

Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing (1960) {2008 Analogue Productions Remaster + 2002 Blue Note RVG Remaster}
XLD+EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 538 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 194 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 43 Mb
© 2008, 2002 Analogue Productions / Blue Note | CBNJ 84038 SA + 40033
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Saxman Jackie McLean's explorations of free jazz and the avant-garde were still a couple of years away when he cut this Blue Note album in 1960, but that doesn't mean CAPUCHIN SWING is a by-the-numbers affair by any means. Though its name isn't generally invoked when the tally of hard bop's greatest albums is made, it stands up alongside anything Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, et al were doing at the time. With trumpeter Blue Mitchell proving to be a perfectly matched sparring partner, McLean pushes bop harmonies and structures nearly to the breaking point with his intense improvisations on a batch of original compositions with a couple of outside tunes thrown in. Throughout, McLean stirs the sonic pot in such a fiery fashion, you can just tell something's cooking that he hasn't quite served up yet.

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. The music (which also features trumpeters Charles Tolliver and Lee Morgan; pianists Herbie Hancock, Larry Willis, and Harold Mabern, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassists Cecil McBee, Bob Cranshaw, Larry Ridley, Herbie Lewis, and Don Moore, drummers Roy Haynes, Billy Higgins, Clifford Jarvis, Jack DeJohnette, and Billy Higgins) is explorative (showing the influence of Ornette Coleman) but without totally disregarding McLean's bebop roots. ~ AllMusic

Phil Woods, Gene Quill, Jackie McLean, John Jenkins, Hal McKusick - Bird Feathers (1957) {2013 Japan Prestige New Jazz Chronicle SHM-CD HR Cutting Series UCCO-5354}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 182 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 332 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD / HR Cutting Remaster
© 1957, 2013 Prestige New Jazz / Concord / Universal Japan | UCCO-5354 | Mono | NJLP 8204
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Reissue features the latest DSD / HR Cutting remastering and the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player). Comes with a description. Features the original LP designs. A really great title for this classic late 50s set – as the record showcases a host of young alto players who've all come up in the generation of Charlie Parker – but who are each bringing their own sense of style to the instrument! There's hardly any "bird feathers" here – as the Charlie Parker modes are never used slavishly, but instead as a way to sprout wings and really take off in new direction – a difference that really comes through wonderfully on the tracks that feature two different altoists playing together.

The best analogy I could use to describe alto saxophonist Jackie McLean ’s sound is that of a boxer. Maybe Rocky Graziano or Jake LaMotta, scratching, clawing and always coming at you with everything he’s got. McLean, a childhood friend of Sonny Rollins , studied with Bud Powell and eventually Charlie Parker. His musical bloodline runs directly from the bebop inventors. Jackie Mac recorded first, at age 19, with Miles Davis and soon became a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. His stint with Blue Note records from 1959-1967 yielded 21 classic discs. He bridged jazz from bebop to hard-bop to free jazz and post-bop, all the while maintaining his fiercely raw aggressive tone. ~ AllAboutJazz

The EVA labels were a group of sisterlabels made for compilations and Best-Of albums released as joint ventures between the national divisions of EMI, Virgin and Ariola. The label became active in 1984 but is now defunct in all countries. Early EVA albums were released with the logos of the three individual labels. Sometimes the label name EVA was not mentioned on those releases.