Producer Alfred Lion was very impressed when he attended John Hammond’s Spirituals to Swing concert of Dec. 23, 1938, which had introduced boogie woogie pianists Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis to New York audiences. Two weeks later, he started the Blue Note label by recording nine Ammons solos,…

Bluesnik, Jackie McLean’s seventh session as a leader for Blue Note Records, was one of only two recordings issued by McLean in 1961. 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…

In 1963, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean was well aware of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. He assembled a band with vibist Bobby Hutcherson, who had already played with Eric Dolphy, drummer Tony Williams, bassist Eddie Khan, and trombonist/composer Grachan Moncur III. While still adhering to the hard bop principle,…

Jackie McLean had always been a highly emotional soloist, so it makes sense that he was one of the first hard bop veterans to find a new voice in the burning intensity of jazz’s emerging avant-garde. McLean had previously experimented with Coltrane’s angular modes and scales and Ornette’s concept…

This 1967 session is notable for the presence of Ornette Coleman in the role of sideman, on trumpet no less. There are only three tunes on New and Old Gospel, one side-long piece by McLean, a four-part suite entitled “Lifeline,” and two works by Coleman, including the title track…

Demon’s Dance was Jackie McLean’s final album for Blue Note, closing out an amazing streak of creativity that’s among the more underappreciated in jazz history. The record retreats a bit from McLean’s nearly free playing on New and Old Gospel and ‘Bout Soul, instead concentrating on angular, modal avant…

Recorded in 1964, Jackie McLean’s It’s Time was only available on CD in the United States as part of a four-disc Mosaic set of his complete Blue Note recordings between 1964-1966. The band here includes trumpeter Charles Tolliver, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Roy Haynes. The…

Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean was one of the few jazz players to come up through bebop and incorporate free jazz into his style. Even though A Fickle Sonance preceded McLean’s intense 1962 album Let Freedom Ring, the playing remained in a swinging blues-oriented style, showing no hint of the…

This 1965 session pairs Jackie McLean with Lee Morgan in the front line and features a rhythm section of pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Billy Higgins. Right — a powerhouse band. Originally recorded in 1965, it wasn’t released on LP until 1979, and then on CD…

Like Eric Dolphy before him, Jackie McLean sought to create a kind of vanguard “chamber jazz” that still had the blues feel and — occasionally — the groove of hard bop, though with rounded, moodier edges. Destination Out! was the album on which he found it. Still working with…