The son of white and black parents,
Jackie McLean (1932) was the only alto saxophonist to create a personal
style based on the spirit of Charlie Parker's accomplishments.
After accompanying Sonny Rollins (1948), Miles Davis (1949), Charles Mingus (1956) and Art Blakey (1956), McLean refined his hard-bop style through a series
of intriguing collaborations:
his 13-minute composition Lights Out (january 1956), in a quintet with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Elmo Hope, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor,
an extended cover of Charlie Parker's Confirmation (july 1956), featuring a sextet with trumpeter Donald Byrd and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley,
his 10-minute piece Mc Lean's Scene (december 1956), in a quintet with trumpeter Bill Hardman, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and Taylor,
Beau Jack (february 1957), with Mal Waldron on piano, Hardman, Watkins and Taylor,
the 20-minute jam A Long Drink of the Blues (august 1957), featuring trombonist Curtis Fuller, trumpeter Webster Young, pianist Gil Coggins, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Louis Hayes.
McLean's style began to depart from standard hard bop on
New Soil (may 1959), that displayed
Ornette Coleman's influence in
his Hip Strut and Minor Apprehension for a piano-trumpet quintet,
on Jackie's Bag (september 1960), with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, pianist Kenny Drew, Chambers and Taylor, that included two exotic pieces (his Appointment in Ghana and Tina Brooks' Isle of Java),
and on Bluesnik (january 1961), in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and pianist Kenny Drew, devoted to blues pieces composed by McLean (such as the title-track).
The "crying" style of his alto on Let Freedom Ring (march 1962), accompanied
by piano, bass and drums, was the direct link between hard bop and free jazz.
Its four lengthy jams (including Melody for Melonae, Rene, Omega,) unleashed all the emotion and creativity that had been constrained on
the previous albums.
The even more atmospheric
One Step Beyond (april 1963), for a quintet with trombone (Grachan Moncur) and vibraphone (Bobby Hutcherson), merged blues, hard bop and modal
improvisation into a new kind of chamber jazz, particularly in
Moncour's Frankenstein and Ghost Town and in
McLean's Saturday and Sunday.
The same idea and line-up (although with a different rhythm section) were repeated on Destination Out (september 1963), and at least Moncour's Esoteric and McLean's Kahlil the Prophet managed to further improve the disorienting sensation of musicians playing with no proper leader.
McLean fully adopted the "free" idiom on
It's Time (august 1964), in a new quintet with trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Herbie Hancock,
and
Action (september 1964), with Bobby Hutcherson's vibraphone replacing the piano.
Ornette Coleman in person played trumpet for McLean on the side-long
four-movement suite Lifeline, off New and Old Gospel (march 1967),
his most complex composition ever.
The free-jazz period ended with Bout Soul (september 1967), with Moncur, Woody Shaw on trumpet, piano, bass and drums (Rashied Ali),
because Demon's Dance (december 1967), without Moncour but with Jack DeJohnette on drums, was already a more traditional work.
After a long hiatus, McLean staged an impressive comeback with Dynasty (november 1988) and Rites of Passage (january 1991).
McLean died in 2006.
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