Jackie McLean

Jackie McLean on vinyl: hard bop with a sharp edge

In short: Jackie McLean (1931–2006) from New York played alto saxophone with a tart, slightly sharp tone you recognise at once. He played early on with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Art Blakey, recorded for Prestige in the fifties and opened up to freer jazz at Blue Note in the sixties. The Vinyl Room currently has 10 Jackie McLean records.

What makes Jackie McLean special?

He stayed curious. The Prestige records “Jackie McLean & Co.” and “Alto Madness” – a duel with John Jenkins – show fifties hard bop, and “New Soil” (1959) was his start at Blue Note. With “A Fickle Sonance” and “Destination… Out!” he took new, more open paths in the early sixties.

Add “Inta Somethin’” with trumpeter Kenny Dorham, the collection “Contour” and the live album “Live At Montmartre” from Copenhagen. Later McLean passed on his knowledge as a teacher in Hartford.

From our stock

First pressings

Records by Jackie McLean

→ Blue Note · Prestige · Hard bop · Jazz on vinyl

FAQ

Which instrument did Jackie McLean play? Alto saxophone.

Who did Jackie McLean play with early on? Among others Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.

What is “Destination… Out!”? A Blue Note album recorded in 1963 and released in 1964 on which McLean tries freer, more open forms.

Which records do you have? Recordings from the fifties to the seventies in editions from several decades – 10 records in all.