JACKIE McLEAN Jackie's Bag

JACKIE McLEAN Jacknife

Jackie McLean is an example of an artist brought back to his rightful place by the advent of the CD and the reissuing program of Blue Note Records. It’s been pointed out that in the ‘80s there were only a handful of the alto sax player’s recordings in print; as of 2003 there are far too many releases available to count. Two recent reissues are Jackie’s Bag (Rudy Van Gelder Series), and Jacknife (Connoisseur Series)—both are worthy of the attention of anyone interested in solid hard-bop sessions.

Jackie’s Bag is actually the result of two sessions. The first, recorded in January 1959, features trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. All three of the tracks recorded during this session were written by McLean and feature some of his best playing anywhere. Listening to these tracks, you cannot help but think that here was the rightful heir to Charlie Parker’s throne if ever there was one. This is simply what small group jazz of the ‘50s and ‘60s was all about, and is as representative of the Blue Note ethos as anything ever would be.

As good as those first few tracks are, they only point the way toward the amazing material that comprises the rest of Jackie’s Bag. The second session, recorded in September 1960, features Blue Mitchell on trumpet, tenor sax player Tina Brooks (who also wrote half the material), and a rhythm section comprised on Kenny Drew, Chambers again, and drummer Art Taylor. McLean’s “Appointment In Ghana” is a modal tune that provides all the horn players with a base for some finely tuned improvisation. Mitchell, less muscular than Byrd, offers an especially nice counterpoint to McLean’s earthy sound. Brooks, who is underappreciated, plays some great solos in the Dexter Gordon/Wardell Gray mode, and his compositions “Isle of Java,” “Street Singer,” and “Medina” are fully realized pieces that explore complex harmonic elements.

One of the coolest things about Jacknife is the opportunity to hear trumpet players Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver on the same date. Morgan was fully developed at the time of this session (September 1965), having assumed the role vacated by the death of Clifford Brown in 1956. His playing, heard on the tracks “Climax,” “Blue Fable,” and his own composition “Soft Blue” (on which both trumpeters solo) is bold and shining. Tolliver, on the other hand, was on the rise at the time Jacknife was recorded, but was far from reaching his maturity as an artist. Nonetheless he plays with inspired gusto on this CD and contributed two excellent compositions: the stately “On the Nile” and the title track. McLean himself is near the top of his form on this session as well, and Jack DeJohnette provides the propulsion and energy that he always seems to bring to any project with which he is involved. McLean was moving into a freer, more modal style of playing, and these sessions demonstrate some of the changes jazz had undergone between 1960 and 1965—soon it would undergo even more. But these reissues, with McLean and a stunning cast of costars who were high in the jazz firmament of the day, are the real thing.

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