Jackie Blue

jackie blue

Track Listings

1. Black Sky

2. If You Wanna Get to Heaven

3. Homemade Wine

4. It'll Shine When It Shines

5. Fly Away Home

6. Country Girl

7. You Made It Right

8. Walkin' Down the Road

9. Jackie Blue

10. Chicken Train

Jackie Blue,Ozark Mountain Daredevils,Eclipse Music Group,Country-Rock,Pop,Pop/Rock,Rock,Southern Rock

Jackie Blue

Average customer rating:

Pushing the blues
Pushing the blues
In a blues bag
Jackie McLean's "Bluesnik" = Classic Blue Note Gem
A document of transition

Bluesnik
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000005HC6
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Bluesnik
Goin' Way Blues
Goin' Way Blues (Alternate Take)
Drew's Blues
Cool Green
Blues Function
Torchin'
Torchin' (Alternate Take)

Customer Reviews:

Pushing the blues.......2002-09-26

What comes to mind when listening to the music here, is that it is the opposite of the way Hank Mobely and his group played on Soul Station.
Mclean and his group are playing a whole album based on the 12 bar (or 16 bar) blues form, but they approach the blues from a whole different place. There is no softness or gentleness here. The blues is attacked with full force by all participents. Even the second track, which is at a slow tempo, is played double and triple time by Mclean and Hubbard.
I feel that for the overall sound of the CD, some balance is missing, some relaxed, layed back moments that would ease the tension. This is why I would not recommend as a blues album, but as a hard edged hard bop album based on the blues form.

Pushing the blues.......2002-09-26

What comes to my mind when listening to the great music here, is that it is an approach to the blues far different than the way Hank Mobely and his group approached it on Soul Station.
Mclean and his group are playing a whole album based on the 12 bar (or 16 bar) blues form, but they approach the blues from a whole different place. There is very little softness or gentleness here. The blues is attacked with full force by all participents, and the emotions projected are uncompromisingly rough.
Even the second track, which is at a slow tempo, is played double and triple time by Mclean and Hubbard.
I feel that the overall sound of the CD is very unique, and there are no relaxed, layed back moments that would ease the tension, as one might expect. This is why I would not recommend it as a blues album, but as a hard edged hard bop album based on the blues form.

In a blues bag.......2002-03-22

A 1961 album in which McLean explores the intersection of hard bop & the blues. If it was all as good as McLean's opening solo on the title track this album would be a masterpiece--this is a really remarkable solo that is strikingly poised & elegant & yet has the bite & hungriness that McLean's music always possesses. It points the way to the extended solos on McLean's great album _Let Freedom Ring!_. But the rest of the album is merely very good, & while Freddie Hubbard & Kenny Drew are good players they don't really play on the same level as the leader. A very good rhythm section--Doug Watkins & Pete La Roca--keeps everything on a nice boil. One curiosity: you can hear Hubbard quote Oliver Nelson's "Cascades" in his solo on "Bluesnik". This album was recorded 6 weeks before _Blues and the Abstract Truth_, on which Hubbard was to participate; so I infer that Hubbard must have recently attended a rehearsal for Nelson's album or been given the sheet music to work on before he stepped into the studio for McLean's album. Appropriately enough, both albums are concerned with the examination of blues structures via modern jazz styles.

Jackie McLean's "Bluesnik" = Classic Blue Note Gem.......2001-06-13

Jackie McLean's "Bluesnik" is one of his best straight ahead bop sessions that he recorded for the Blue Note label. A few years after this session was made, Jackie ventured into a realm on the fine line between bebop and the avant-garde/free jazz of the 60s with albums like "Let Freedom Ring", "Destination Out" and "One Step Beyond". This album, however, was around the peak of Jackie's explorations that were solidly within the bop framework.

If you like Jackie McLean, classic Blue Note hardbop, or just innovative improvisational music by musicians who play with fiery passion restrained by the strength of their intellect - then this is the album for you.

"Bluesnik" features 6 songs that all have a "bluesy" mood even though they are not all technically blues in terms of their structure and harmonics.

Jackie McLean is his typical inspired self (did the man ever turn in an subpar effort?) and his solos show a penchant for the blues and convey a very deep visceral and emotional impact. The album features a supporting cast of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums.

I disagree with the other reviewer who stated that Freddie Hubbard doesn't really perform well on this session. While Freddie Hubbard certainly turned in more inspired performances elsewhere - that is certainly not a negative reflection of his playing here. Rather, it is a reflection of his legendary performances as a sideman on such albums as "Speak No Evil", "Blues and the Abstract Truth", and "Maiden Voyage".

There is nothing particularly progressive about this music for its time - it is just high quality straight ahead jazz that will both mesmerize you on your first listen and adquately reward repeated listenings.

One word of caution, Jackie McLean is known for his sharp intonation on the alto sax. In my opinion, this is an integral part of his style which helps account for the uniqueness of his sound on the alto and for the emotive impact of his playing. However, for some listeners Jackie's intonation can be a distraction from the music. "Bluesnik" does feature some of the sharpest intonation in Jackie's discography.

If you are the type of person who insists on listening to soloists who play the saxophone with textbook intonation then you may get annoyed with Jackie's playing on "Bluesnik". However, if you are open to sounds that are not "technically" perfect but nonetheless perfectly fit the musical purposes of the artist employing them, then give "Bluesnik" a try. You won't be disappointed.

A document of transition.......1998-10-23

No one can play alto without standing in Bird's shadow, but McLean came tantalizingly close--briefly--in the early 60's. This album, while on the surface 6 congenial blues, reveals real, potent depths on repeated listens. McLean's solos, especially on the title track, are an uneasy reconciliation between bebop and "out". They're always threatening to explode out of their harmonic boundaries. Which makes the music always exciting, sometimes breathtaking. I would have liked to hear more of McLean and less of Hubbard, who's a little too brassy for this, but I'll take what I can get. Buy this before it goes back out of print.

Average customer rating:

Great music from a forgotten artist
"The Connection" No Longer Disconnected

The Music from "The Connection"
Freddie Redd Quartet with Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0009VNC9G
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Album Description

Freddie Redd's music for Jack Gelber's play "The Connection" has become the most celebrated album of this excellent pianist-composer's career. Jackie McLean's full-bodied alto is absolutely incandescent throughout.

FREDDIE REDD, piano
JACKIE McLEAN, alto sax
MICHAEL MATTOS, bass
LARRY RITCHIE, drums

Customer Reviews:

Great music from a forgotten artist.......2006-07-21

I knew little about Freddie Redd until I read a review of this album in the All Music Guide to Jazz. It sounded great, so I went ahead and ordered it. All the accolades are justified, this is a great CD. Redd is an unjustly neglected jazz pianist, and his interplay with tenor great Jackie McLean is just superb. I plan to investigate the rest of Redd's (too few) albums as well.

"The Connection" No Longer Disconnected.......2005-08-17

Originally available on CD in the mid-90s as a limited edition title in the first round of Blue Note's Connoisseur Series, Freddie Redd's "Music from The Connection" has only been available as an expensive import or collector's item for the past decade. Thankfully with this reissue in the RVG Edition Series, "The Connection" is no longer disconnected. "The Connection" was a successful underground play that opened at New York's Living Theatre in July 1959 about heroin addiction and the lifestyles surrounding it. Being true to life, jazz played a large role in the storyline. It is a tribute to playwright Jack Gelber that he used real jazz musicians as actors, and as a result he got some great original music as a bonus. Pianist Freddie Redd wrote and played the music in the play, which was recorded here for Blue Note. (There is another album out there that has floated in and out of print on CD of a quintet recording of this music that featured Howard McGhee and Tina Brooks.) This disc features seven Redd originals and a band of Jackie McLean on alto sax (who also had a long run as an actor in the play), Michael Mattos on bass and Larry Ritchie on drums. This is the only recording I have featuring the bassist and drummer, and they both play admirably. Jazz fans, do yourself a favor and get "Connected."

Average customer rating:

Five-star singer and production.
Sensational disc
Shes one of most awesome jazz/pop singers with some soul mixed in
Smoothjazz.com Review
Just right

Tangled
Jackie Allen
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000FC2FWO
Release Date: 2006-05-23

Tracks:

When Will I Ever Learn
Coal Grey Eyes
You're Nearer
If I Had
Tangled
Slip
You'll Never Learn
Everything I've Got Belongs To You
Hot Stone Soup
Do Wrong Shoes
Solitary Moon
Living Without You

Amazon.com

Since moving to Chicago from Milwaukee in the early '90s, Jackie Allen has been one of the Windy City's least-peggable jazz singers, maintaining an independence of spirit even as she mined standards. So while the eclectic pop turn she takes on Tangled, her Blue Note debut, may catch some fans by surprise, it isn't as much of a departure as it may seem. Recorded in Chicago with a cast of excellent local players including pianist Laurence Hobgood (Kurt Elling's creative partner) and guitarist John Moulder, it cohesively showcases Allen's fresh approach to classics (including a slyly broken-down treatment of Rodgers & Hart's "Everything I've Got Belongs to You"), her sultry way with ballads (one of which was written by her husband, bassist Hans Sturm) and her literate songwriting gifts. While the album may make its strongest commercial connection with her churchy, Norah Jones-ish reading of Van Morrison's "When Will I Ever Learn" and its yearning cover of Randy Newman's "Living Without You," it is more strongly defined by its originals, which encompass moody folk-rock, horn-fed funk, jazz-rock fusion and samba. As a kind of bonus, Tangled includes the first recording of Donald Fagen's nightcrawling "Do Wrong Shoes," which brings out the sassiness in Allen. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews:

Five-star singer and production........2007-06-09

It's certainly a highly-competitive field, but among female "jazz" vocalists Jackie Allen rises to the top in the Midwest/Chicago area. Her move to a major label is well-deserved. It assures her of top-notch production values, some help with distribution, and apparently her former liberties of choosing her own material.

There are some jazz influences, but nothing, contrary to a previous reviewer's observation, resembling "straightahead jazz" (a couple of Rodgers and Hart songs are favorites of some jazz artists, Fagen's "Do Wrong Shoes" has a bit of swinging 4/4, and Johnny Mandell's "Solitary Moon," the album's highlight, would be worthy of any jazz artist). Call it eclectic, genre-resistant, or simply tasteful "adult contemporary"--besides the jazz traces there's plenty of contemporary pop, some light latin, new age folk/country, and light rock. Jackie's penchant for the sound of guitar appears to be influencing her direction in the past 5-10 years, taking her ever a bit further away from the American Songbook and hip, swinging interpretations.

"You're Nearer" is a considerable distance from, say, Shirley Horn's reading, but with Jackie's intimate, personal sound, it would work in any setting. The real "misfire" is "Everything I've Got Belongs to You," which requires a two-faced, innocent/dangerous femme fatale persona (not the cold-blooded sadist of Jackie's chilling reading) as well as listeners who don't have a tin ear for irony (increasingly hard to find these days). The Islamic prohibitions about the use of God's name make more sense to me after hearing Jackie's opener, "When Will I Ever Learn" (Van Morrison). It works only with Berlin's "God Bless America" (thank God, Irving didn't title it "God Blesses America," or it, too, would have to go into the prohibited pile).

The examples of singers like Tierney Sutton and Karrin Allyson do show that going it as a female jazz singer these days is grueling (figure on becoming a full-time employer of a crack piano trio, for one thing) but not impossible. Hearing Jackie do things like "Spain" and "Come Fly With Me" (from "Men in My Life"), however, does lead me to believe she'd have a good shot, if the desire, perseverance, and energy are still there. Even the evidence on this recording, especially "Solitary Moon," attests to the enduring presence of her talent--and, of course, of that "special sound"--intimate, warm, inviting, glowing and vibrant as ever.

Sensational disc.......2006-06-30

This tops her wonderful Love is Blue release. A very underrated vocalist who is worth wider recognition.

Shes one of most awesome jazz/pop singers with some soul mixed in.......2006-06-28

Jackie allens soars on this cd awesome voice awesome songs. a must buy Cd. Her 03 is really awesome as well.Theses cds of hers show off how awesome voice she truly has.

Smoothjazz.com Review.......2006-06-16

Jackie Allen is a pioneer...a singer who thrives in the juxtaposition of jazz and pop music, as evidenced so clearly in this, her 8th album released since her recording debut in 1994. TANGLED is her first for Blue Note, and an auspicious start. This is just flat out top-notch stuff, as she joins the growing stable of Blue Note's pioneering female vocalists...Cassandra Wilson, Norah Jones, Patricia Barber, and Dianne Reeves. That's good company, and she deserves to be there. TANGLED is one of those albums that defy categorization, as she deftly and effortlessly moves from straight-ahead jazz (her read on the Rodgers & Hart tune, "You're Nearer" is incredibly tender and beautiful) to folk-rock (she colors van Morrison's "When Will I Ever Learn" with almost a gospel feel). This collection of tunes is varied and well-balanced, with originals from her band, three of her own collaborations with poet/writer Oryna Schiffman, and some well-chosen works from the pens of others, including a ballad take on Randy Newman's "Living Without You" and a jaunty, sassy treatment of Donald Fagen's previously unrecorded "Do Wrong Shoes." As Ms. Allen puts it, "The elements of jazz and pop have always been mixed in my life. They all swing around in my head." There may have been a time in the past when this cross-pollination might have been perceived as way niched, but no longer. Jackie Allen's music is fresh, and hip and oh, so today! TANGLED is most definitely a must-have! ~SCOTT O'BRIEN

Just right.......2006-06-11

Good quality recording - mix is good.
This CD is a very enjoyable listen.

Average customer rating:

What would you listen to if you had no fear?
jazzlover314
Let Freedom Ring
Jackies break from conventional hard-bop
one of my favorite Mclean cd's

Let Freedom Ring
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000BV20X
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Tracks:

Melody For Meloniae
I'll Keep Loving You
Rene
Omega

Customer Reviews:

What would you listen to if you had no fear?.......2007-04-25

What would you play if you had no fear? What would you listen to if you didn't have to explain it to the others, to your family, to your boss? It would sound like jazz. Let freedom ring. Let play it and listen to "Omega" in particular. Give you an opportunity.

jazzlover314.......2006-03-10

This is a great CD. I listen to it over and over and it just gets better everytime. I've been meaning to pick up some Jackie McLean since I first heard his Right Now album back in the 70's and I'm delighted. He is so inventive and creative. Another strong influence ont he CD is the drumer Billy Higgins. Somehow every thing he does seems to bring out the best in the other players.

Let Freedom Ring.......2005-03-01

Being that I'm a huge fan of Jackie McLean's straight-ahead hard bop sessions, I didn't think I would like this session when I picked it up. After popping this disc into my cd player when I got home, I could tell from the first few seconds of "Melody for Melonae" that I couldn't have been more wrong. This is definitely one of McLean's best, which says a lot since his discography is so vast. After hearing this session, you will probably wonder why the quartet on the four tracks (McLean, Walter Davis, Jr. on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums) did not become a working group because they work so well together! All four tracks on this masterpiece are gems and there's not one I favor over the others. They are all different and good in their own way. Three of the four tunes ("Melody for Melonae", "Rene", and "Omega") are originals written by Jackie. Interestingly enough, those three tunes are all written about members of McLean's family ("Melody for Melonae" is about his daughter, "Rene" is about his son, and "Omega is about his mother. That can probably explain why his playing seems to be filled with such emotion during the duration of these tracks. "I'll Keep Loving You", the other track on this cd, is a rarely-done Bud Powell ballad. All of those people who consider McLean to be too rough of an alto player will change their minds immediately after hearing the coda on this track. His playing is so tender that it kills me every time I hear it! All four of the members of this ensemble are highlighted throughout, but this is definitely McLean's show and is one of the most personal albums he ever produced. So if you're a McLean fan, a fan of Coltrane, Shorter, or Coleman, or just dig jazz with feeling, then order this gem immediately!

Jackies break from conventional hard-bop.......2004-03-28

This record is, IMO, McLeans first really good record. McLean was a bebop veteran but unlike most of his colleagues he didn't put down Ornette Colemans innovations and this record shows that influence. McLean had recorded several albums before this one but they were in a conventional hard-bop mode, a style I'm not so fond of. McLeans best earlier playing was instead on Mingus-records like "Picanthropos Erectus" and the incredible "Blues and Roots (one of the best records ever made-listen to "Moanin"!!!). Mingus encouraged McLeans original,intense slightly out-of-tune playing and asked him to cut back on the Be-bop cliches. The first song on this album shows a great extension of the style on Mingus tracks like "Love chant". First the great theme (which doesn't sound hard-bop at all!!!), then an amazingly intense bluesy saxophone solo over a two-chord piano vamp with great drumming by Bill Higgins (of Ornette Colemans early group). Amazing stuff and one of my favourite McLean performances. Next comes a KILLER rendition of a Bud Powell ballad that is the highlight of the album IMO. McLeans playing is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. The next song, "Rene", features another long sax solo that almost wholly consists of pure blues-cliches. This may sound boring but the way McLean distorts and play with the well-known phrases saves it from being dull. Last is "Omega", a three-part number which, again, is awesome. While this record isn't as original as "Destination Out" or other albums in that vein, it's just as good. It's records like this that makes you want to go out and buy a saxophone and just BLOW!!!

one of my favorite Mclean cd's.......2004-01-30

Trying to pigeonhole this music is not an easy task, and maybe it is not necessary. Mclean grew up listening to Parker, and always retains some bebop in his playing. But, later influences, of Mingus and then Ornette Coleman, have encouraged him to find his own style. So he ventured on new territories and made some good music in the process.
This is not free jazz, because rhythmically Mclean is closer to bebop and hard bop, and because of Walter Davis' presence on the piano. What this music IS, is very expressive, original, and rich. Mclean is not a genious improvisor on the level of Coleman, Dolphy or Parker. But he has a lot to say, and a very attracrive way of saying it.
The four tracks are all interesting, and I especially like the first and the last. Sometimes it is obvious that Mclean goes into the high pitched shrieks involuntarily, as a result of his powerful blowing, but chooses to stay with them and add them as legitimate sounds.
It is interesting to note that the name of the cd is taken from the "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King, which was made a full year after the music was recorded. Since it is unlikely that King borrowed from Mclean, I suppose the album was named and released a long while after it was recorded.

Average customer rating:

New and Old Gospel
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Average customer rating:

Intense Mclean
Like meeting an old friend for the first time.

Jacknife
Jackie Mclean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006J3KW
Release Date: 2002-10-08

Tracks:

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Climax
Soft Blue
Jacknife
Blue Fable

Customer Reviews:

Intense Mclean.......2005-09-09

There are a million reasons why any album should be intense but I think "Jacknife" owes this one to Jack Dejohnette who's powerhouse drumming brings the flame up a couple notches. Larry Ridley who is usually somewhat hard to hear is surprisingly well fitted and audible with Dejohnette and Larry Willis on piano who combines the fast lines of Wynton Kelly and the strong Chordal Voicings of Bill Evans to make an extremely effective pianist. On Horns are Jackie of course on alto, the fiery trumpeting of Charles Tolliver, and the ever emotional and honest Lee Morgan sharing the trumpet chair with Tolliver. The comositions are all originals including two very strong tunes by tolliver "On the Nile" and "Jacknife", and one each by Morgan, Mclean, and Dejohnette. It is an immense recording and the honesty portrayed in Mclean and Morgan's playing is spirit lifting. The band Swings hard and their chops are in fine condition. Some reviewers will recognize standout tracks on different albums but with this one I have to say every single one is. Mclean's one contribution, "Blue Fable" is a very interesting song. First off the listener might take it for a blues, although the composition is trying to evoke a blues feeling, it is not in regular blues form and is sometimes switching keys. The title track is an absolute killer, Mclean burns right through the microphone and Tolliver does just the same. "Climax" bears the same intensity and Willis also whips out a great solo.

"Jacknife" is "cutting" edge.

Like meeting an old friend for the first time........2002-10-14

Before I commence to praise this music, since I am the first to review this, I will provide some technical details. The recording date was September 24th, 1965. The musicians are Mr. McLean on the alto sax, Larry Willis on the piano, Larry Ridley on the bass and the great Jack DeJohnette on the drums. Now here is the icing on the cake. Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver take turns playing the trumpet on this date and on one song, Soft Blue (written by Morgan) they both play.
The songs are On The Nile (written by Tolliver), Climax (penned by DeJohnette), the aforementioned Soft Blue, Jackknife (again by Tolliver) and Blue Fable by McLean.
If you are familiar with McLean's mid-sixties Blue Notes, you know that the McLean-Tolliver combination was one of the most potent of the time period. Tolliver seemed to bring out the modernist in McLean. Jackie also encouraged Tolliver's greatness as a composer by consistently recording several of Tolliver's song on the albums of this period. Charles Tolliver went on to a great but sadly underrecognized careet. If you like what you hear on this album, please check out his Live in Tokyo album. Trumpet quartets do not get any better than that.
Jackie's playing is brillantly passionate and, as always, his sound is unique. He is one of those players who is instantly recognizable. He is also one of those players whom, for me, rarely disappoints-the man just seems to have an endless stream of great music in him. Listen to his solo on Jackknife and see if you don't agree.
Lee Morgan is his usual self. Sometimes Lee was so soulful that it is easy to overlook how advanced musically and technically skilled his playing was. His composition on this CD is typically punchy. His stuff seems to be a lot of fun for everybody to play.
Larry Willis is the ringer of the album for me. I don't recall ever having heard him before but he sounds wonderful on this disc. A little like Hancock when Herbie was feeling soulful. I wonder what happened to him?
Larry Ridley and DeJohnette should need no introduction to you if you are reading a review of a Jackie McLean CD. Particularly DeJohnette. I will tell you one story. I was watching Freddie Hubbard's group at a Montreal club back in the mid-Seventies. DeJohnette sat in during the middle set and changed everything. Somehow he kicked everybody into high inspiration mode. Everybody's playing, expecially Hubbard's, went up many notches. It was a lesson in the drums for me. Jack isn't loud but he somehow pushes the whole band into a new sense of the possibilities. As on this album.
This whole album is like that. It is a reminder for me of just how great Blue Note was at that time. This is powerful music made by giants who could do no other. A heady strong strange brew. Do yourself a favor and snap this bad boy up.

Average customer rating:

this cd kicks ass
So funny it blew away my jetty!
Absolutely terrific!

Joke Man
Jackie Martling
Manufacturer: Oglio Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 1996-11-05

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Customer Reviews:

this cd kicks ass.......2004-01-23

This cd is filled with dirty funny jokes and it rocks...

P.S If you are offeded easily don't listen to let alone buy this cd

However if you don't mind jackie making fun of everything and everyone then you will enjoy this offesive and damn funny cd

So funny it blew away my jetty!.......1999-09-22

If you enjoy the musings eternally etched into the sheet metal of every toilet stall in America, you will hate this CD because the jokes are twice as lame and four times as old.

Absolutely terrific!.......1998-07-16

This is definetly one of the best live performance CD's I have ever heard. The jokes on this CD will keep you laughing for a long time. 78 minutes of wild fun you just can't miss.

Average customer rating:

Time and Space
One of the best jazz records ever made!!!
avant garde jazz 1963
Once Again, Destination Out Of This World

Destination Out!
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Let Freedom Ring
The Thing to Do
Jacknife
Ready for Freddie
Vertigo

ASIN: B0002KQNZY
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Tracks:

Love And Hate
Esoteric
Kahlil The Prophet
Riff Raff

Customer Reviews:

Time and Space.......2007-02-03

I bought this cd from Amazon at the same time as Jacknife and Capuchin Swing. Although the other two were good, this one was clearly the best of the three. It has a unique use of space and timing that I have not heard for a long time. Although the music does not cross the line into atonality it sometimes gets close to the edge, which is difficult to maintain. There are different time signatures in use and although I have heard his saxophone style described sometimes as shrieks, I did not find it hard to listen to. Jackie McLean was willing to take chances and not stay in one style for his entire career, which is commendable for an artist. Although it is different I find myself listening to it over and over again. I plan to get others if I can connvince my wife. If you want to step into the waters of something new I would recommend this CD. It is at a very good price now.

One of the best jazz records ever made!!!.......2005-02-22

Jackie McLean was one of the finest talent scouts in jazz history. Tony Williams, Charles Tolliver and Jack DeJoohnette were some of the musicians that made their name in McLeans groups. This record features two other incredible musicians he discovered:Vibist Bobby Hutcherson and (most importantly) trombonist and composer Grachan MoncurIII. Grachan wrote dark, almost mysterious sounding "modal" compositions that used very few chords and still sound unique today. Bobbys spare, spacey vibe sound also added a totally unique flavour. McLean had broken free of conventional hard-bop with the awesome "Let freedom ring". He then formed a group consisting of Williams, Moncur and Hutcherson (all almost totally unknown at that point),. The first record all three made together was "One Step Beyond" (out of print). That record consisted of music that was definitely steeped in the Bop tradition but also took it's cues from avantgarde jazz with Williams constantly changing drum patterns, McLean blowing wild, intense solos and Hutcherson giving the music a totally different sound with dissonant, percussive vibes. The fact that the group used vibes instead of piano was very important for the overall sound. They made an even greater record under Moncurs leadership, "Evolution" (also OOP, WHY???) which added Lee Morgan in a surprisingly explorative mood. If one wants to know where Dolphy got his inspiration for "Out to Lunch!", look no further than these records...

This record doesn't feature Williams, instead it's veteran Roy Haynes who drums which gives the record a somewhat more conventional feel. It doesn't matter much though, the group plays three awesome Moncur compositions and McLeans playing is more relaxed and secure in this environment than on the earlier records where his high-pitched screams sometimes becomes grating. Overall, this is a must-have!!!

PS Blue Note HAS to reissue "Evolution" and "One Step Beyond"!!! Records as good as these don't deserve to be out of print. Oh yeah, re-issue "It's Time" also...

avant garde jazz 1963.......2004-10-07

One of my personal favorite jazz albums.
Love and Hate set the record off with a slow tempo meditation on its subject- setting the tone of the song is Hutcherson's vibes curdling out a slow painful vamp. Giving space to the song is Roy Haynes. Sparse drumming adding to the meditative feel of the song for the horns to solo on top of. McLean really seems to shine on this song weaving his solo so finely, that although played with great restraint comes through an intense passion.
The song is followed by Esoteric; by itself an incredible composition with all it's intricacies, I could imagine a difficult song for a band to play much in the same way a Thelonious Monk song would be. Similar as well to Hat and Beard by Eric Dolphy off of the Out to Lunch album which was release a year later (and who's inspiration of that song came from Monk)- Out to Lunch came of the same label (blue note) but was a more celebrated album I suppose for its more recognized line up of names- although Bobby Hutcherson was present for both. Esoteric is a great example of a superb composition both rhythmically and melodically that demands much of its players but when things fall into place those things really take off.
The third song on the set is in a much more traditional hard bop tone that was popular at the time. The lone Jackie McLean composition, Kahlil the Prophet; keeping in a 4/4 beat, the song seems mostly a platform for fantastic soloing.
Finally there's Riff Raff. The least ambitious of the three Moncur songs, not to say it doesn't go somewhere terrific. Very easy going in it's blues groove, it works as a good counterpoint to the "deeper" Esoteric and Love and Hate. Once again some great solos, Hutcherson's especially takes the whole groove and puts it on its head.
The album works with one side of avant garde jazz and the second side more traditional and solo based jazz. The playing is immaculate and inspired something that can be expected from just about any album you get from the Blue Note or Impulse labels of this time period. But this things gotta bug to it.

Once Again, Destination Out Of This World.......2004-09-09

Blue Note/EMI has once again made one of their classic albums available via the RVG series. Jackie McLean's "Destination Out" had appeared on CD before in the limited edition Connoisseur Series, but that edition recently went out-of-print. With this reissue, it makes a welcome, and hopefully permanent, return to the catalog. Jackie Mac made so many great albums for Blue Note that it is hard to rank them, but "Destination Out" has to be up their with the best of them. This is the second of three albums from 1963 that matched Grachan Moncur's trombone and Bobby Hutcherson's vibes with Jackie's alto -- the first was Jackie's "One Step Beyond" and the final one was Moncur's "Evolution" (both are prime candidates for RVG reissue though they are currently available from Mosaic Records in the Mosaic Select series). The lineup was phenomenal and one of the most forward thinking to that point on Blue Note. They truly paived the way for the more experimental albums on the label. The only thing this album lacks that the other two benefit from is the free-wheeling drumming of a young Tony Williams. However, Roy Haynes who sits in the throne for the session is no slouch either. In all, "Destination Out" is truly out of this world.

Average customer rating:

sweeping and expansive
dance with the demon in the pale moonlight....

Demon's Dance
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Here to Stay
Happenings
City Lights
Off to the Races
Trompeta Toccata

ASIN: B000H30974
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Tracks:

Demon's Dance
Toyland
Boo Ann's Grand
Sweet Love Of Mine
Floogeh
Message From Trane

Customer Reviews:

sweeping and expansive.......2007-04-28

"Demon's Dance" is a mesmerizing Jackie McLean and crew release, done for Blue Note in 1967. Accompanying Mclean are some skilled and practiced sidemen, including Woody Shaw (t), Lamont Johnson (p), Scott Holt (b) and Jack DeJohnette (d). Lamont Johnson and Scott Holt had worked frequently with Mclean in the past, providing wonderful rhythmic accompaniment. Mclean, a veteran of the Horace Silver Quintet and a collaborator with the late Eric Dolphy, shines through on alto sax on the title track especially.

"Toyland" is a stark and emotive piece, showcasing Jackie wooing listeners with a forlorn horn and featuring a superb solo by Lamont Johnson on piano. The slick fast beat of "Boo Ann's Grand", combined with the rich overtones of "Sweet Love of Mine" and the high gear gripping performance of McLean on "Floogeh" make the overall result of this session amazing. The final track on this date was "Message to Trane", clearly done in reference and tribute to the late John Coltrane. This Rudy Van Gelder Edition 24-bit remaster of McLean's 1967 album provides remarkable sound quality for listeners. Buy "Demon's Dance" today, you'll be glad that you did.

dance with the demon in the pale moonlight...........2006-09-15

I could go on and on about McLean's blue notes, as I have assembled a pretty complete collection of his dates and clutch sideman issues. He always plays with an edge, a tone that not all people dig (especially purists), and a searching concept that never leaves behind what Bud Powell taught him. He led many great bands of many great future stars, and this is another one. The first two tracks are the cream of this session. McLean's lead-off title composition on the record is a classic, and the second track a haunting low-key vehicle for his sound (Shaw doesn't solo). These tracks are arresting, and the rest is good but similar in execution to lots of other things he was doing around this time. They're not bad, they just don't grab you like the first two, and will likely deepen after repeated listens. If you like this stuff, I would check out the records he made with Charles Tolliver (It's Time, Action, Jacknife) which are my personal favorites.

Average customer rating:

Mixed McLean
Several outstanding moments
Pushes boundaries of hard bop onto a fruitful new plane
Formidable
baby steps?

New Soil
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Blue Note Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Modern Post Bop | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bluesnik
Vertigo
Capuchin Swing
Jacknife
A Fickle Sonance

ASIN: B000005HC2
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Hip Strut
Minor Apprehension
Greasy
Sweet Cakes
Davis Cup
Formidable

Album Description

24 bit digitally remastered Japanese reissue on Blue Note of an original album cut for the label in a miniaturized LP sleeve limited to the initial pressing only & with the original artwork intact. 1999 release.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Version featuring an LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing Only. 24bit Remastered.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed McLean.......2007-06-25

With his raw, keening tone and spiky, inventive lines Jackie McLean was arguably the most individual altoist to follow Parker. The sheer visceral power of a good McLean solo is arresting. McLean recorded prolifically but unfortunately the quality of his output is inconsistent. He could hit the heights, as on Bluesnik and Let Freedom Ring, but on many discs, such as a lot of his early Prestige recordings and some Blue Notes eg A Fickle Sonance, the inescapable impression is that he was not really extending himself. This record is of mixed quality. McLean gets off some good solos as on Hip Strut. However, the disc as a whole is marred by too much reliance on the trite, formulaic 'Good Ole Soul' approach, trumpeter Donald Byrd and pianist Walter Davis being the main offenders. It also has the worst sound quality of any Blue Note reissue I have ever heard, with intrusive background hiss throughout. I have 1920s transfers that sound better than this.

Several outstanding moments.......2004-02-24

I picked this up immediately following a Jackie Mclean performance at the iridum in New York. Jackie can still blow by the way.
The arrangements here are all very strong and Jackie's tone and playing is crisp and very cool. The real surprise on this cd are the compositions from pianist Walter Davis Jr. His tunes are fantastic vehicles for this band to work out on. Davis' blues/stride piano style on track 3 lays a great foundation for some excellent soloing from both Jackie and Donald Byrd. Byrd is not as technically exciting as a Lee Morgan or Clifford Brown but is strong here and in combination with Mclean creates a nice overall effect. Paul Chambers is solid as always and the drumming of Pete La Roca is steady.
The Bluesy third track Greasy is a real standout and so is the final track Formidable. The rest of the cuts are good solid bop playing from a group that deserves to be checked out again.

Pushes boundaries of hard bop onto a fruitful new plane.......2003-01-31

McLean's May 1959 recording shows the budding influence of the avant-garde, as later in the same month Ornette Coleman would record his landmark "Shape of Jazz to Come". "Minor Apprehension" gives Pete LaRoca a solo spot to display his rhythmic interpretation of the new school of jazz. Walter Davis "Greasy" is old school boogie-woogie, but Jackie's solo pushes it beyond the familiar and well-trodden. Donald Byrd is impressive right out of the gate, playing fast flurries of notes on his first solo, and he uses echo effectively in his "Sweet Cakes" solo. Paul Chambers gets a nice bowed solo on "Hip Strut".

Jackie McLean - Sax (Alto)
Pete La Roca - Drums
Donald Byrd - Trumpet
Paul Chambers - Bass
Walter Davis, Jr. - Piano

Formidable.......2003-01-21

The last track is called "Formidable," and the album is formidable. Mr. McLean is a worthy leader -- although the band is excellent, he's still better than the others. He's less relentlessly on the beat, for example.

Although Donald Byrd's playing is a bit unimaginative, he and his brilliant tone still make the music interesting. The rhythm section provides some interesting contrasts with the horn players. Walter Davis's more restrained piano, for example, strikes the right note after the horn solos.

baby steps?.......2001-01-09

Finally, with Blue Note Jackie mclean and Co. were given the time and opportunity to practice/rehearse/jam before the tape started rolling. Not to disparage records like Mcleans Scene, Strange Blues, Alto-Madness etc... for they are wonderful but all are extremely loose and seem to tetter at times not emotionally but in a what the hell is coming next kind of way which is beautiful...its just on New Soil a little preconceiving seems to have let things grow unhindered. Donald Byrd on trumpet, Paul Chambers bass, Walter Davis Jr. piano, and Pete La Roca on drums...an oak-solid band who swing in and out of Mcleans furrowed like phrases...relentlessly. I highly recommend this music.

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