Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring

“There are many reasons for which I chose to write the notes for this album. I want to give my personal opinion on the new concept in jazz today. I would also like to give a rundown on the material used, as well as the personnel.

“When Monk, Bird, Diz and Max made their appearance on the jazz scene, a new concept was born. The first steps towards freedom in improvisation were taken. The New Breed on the jazz scene are searching for new ways of expressing themselves. Many have cast aside the old and much overused chord progressions; they are searching for new foundations composition-wise. We find scales and modes more outstanding in solos. The extended form (first introduced to me by Charlie Mingus) is but another way of composing and blowing.

“When a musician reaches a certain point, he is no longer satisfied with merely copying someone else. He begins to look for his own way of expression. For example, I have always felt that Charlie Parker used a crossbreed of Don Byas, Lester Young and Buster Smith as a basis for a style that later became his own, a very original style. Some of my early influences were Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, Monk and, of course, Bird. Later Sonny Rollins, Andy Kirk Jr. and Miles helped form my concept.

“I feel that emotion has taken an important step in expression on the horn. Emotion has always been present, but today it has a new importance. Towards the end of Lady Day’s career, her voice was just a shadow of what it had been, yet she still put a song over; her singing voice was gone, leaving emotion her only tool of expression.

“Getting away from the conventional and much overused chord changes was my personal dilemma. Until recently this was the reason why many things I composed in 1955 left me helpless when it came to a basis for improvisation, for example, ‘Quadrangle’ and ‘A Fickle Sonance’. Both of these tunes were just recently recorded. I used ‘I Got Rhythm’ for the solo section in ‘Quadrangle’. These changes do not fit the personality of the tune at all. Today when I play ‘Quadrangle’, I used sections of scales and modes. I try to write each thing with its own personality. I choose the outstanding notes of the composition and build a scale or a motif to fit the feeling of the tune. Today I am going through a big change composition-wise and in improvising. Ornette Coleman has made me stop and think. He has stood up under much criticism, yet he never gives up his cause, freedom of expression. The search is on.

“I hold up a deep respect for two great trumpet players, Kenny Dorham and Miles Davis. Ironically, their jazz histories are very similar; yet they have two completely different ways of expression. They worked in the same big bands in the ‘40s (Billy Eckstine and Dizzy Gillespie). Miles worked with Charlie Parker during some of Bird’s most exciting years. When Miles left, Kenny took his place next to the master. Today we find Kenny and Miles still advancing the cause. Their approach is different but their destination is the same.

“I received my first saxophone on my fifteenth birthday, a gift from my Mom. Two years later I met Bud Powell. It was Bud who gave me what musical heart and pride I possess. Through Bud I met Miles and Kenny. In my early years I wanted to sound just like Bird. He was a master saxophonist and a great man.

“Miles gave me my first professional break. I was nineteen when I entered the House of Davis. I listen closely to Dave. He always chooses just the right notes in a change. Miles can play three notes and say as much as someone playing thirty. Sonny Rollins was with the band; so between the two, my concept broadened. My sound began to change. At this point I joined Mingus. Charlie would always say, ‘Jackie, you have your own sound. Now why don’t you look for your own ideas.’ Today I can appreciate this bit of priceless advice. I began to form my own way of expression with Mingus.

“When I left ‘The Ming’, I joined the master swinger, Art Blakey. I spent two and a half years with the Messengers, happy years. Art also preached originality to me.

“I am proud to say that my musical schooling has been at the universities of Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and, of course, Bird. Many of my early days in jazz were spent at Monk’s house. Monk has been a dear friend of mine for many years.

“Jazz is going through a big change, and the listener or fan, or what have you, should listen with an open mind. They should use a mental telescope to bring into view the explorers how have taken one step beyond, explorers such as Monk, Coltrane, Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Kenny Dorham, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Ornette and, of course, Duke Ellington. I don’t have enough space to name them all.

“Klook, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Philly Joe, Elvin Jones and Arthur Taylor. These are the percussionists who have made a lyrical instrument of the drum.

“The musicians I chose for this date are: Billy Higgins on drums; Billy, who is from Los Angeles, came to New York with Ornette Coleman. I sure dig the groove Billy gets. Herbie Lewis, on bass, was born in Pasadena, California on February 17, 1941. Herbie, who is self-taught, came to New York with Les McCann and is currently working with the Jazztet. He can sure swing. On piano is Walter Davis from New Jersey. Walter has played with Max Roach’s and Dizzy’s bands, to name a few. Everybody knows ‘Humphrey’.

“The material on this date is mostly original. ‘Melody for Melonae’ is dedicated to my little girl, six years of age. It has three different mood, first the melody, then it moves a bright B-flat minor mode as a basis for solos. Each solo ends with a ballad section. ‘I’ll Keep Loving You’, composed by Bud Powell, is a beautiful ballad that reveals the depth of Bud’s emotions. ‘René’ is a blues written for my son who is studying the alto. I try to get away from the usual 12 bar blues figure. In other words, I take the roundabout way only to end up with the blues in B-flat. Finally, ‘Omega’ which means the end. I wrote this for my mother. Her name happens to be Alpha Omega McLean. The tune is in two sections. The outside is built on an F-sharp major mode and is free of tempo, to a degree. The second section swings along with a happy feeling.

“I want to thank Walter Davis, Billy Higgins and Herbie Lewis for their support. I give them ‘A’ for effort and ‘A’ for performance. The new breed has inspired me all over again. The search is on. Let freedom ring.” (Jackie McLean. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Walter Davis Jr. (pi), Herbie Lewis (bs), Billy Higgins (dr)

A1. Melody For Monae

A2. I'll Keep Loving You

B1. Rene

B2. Omega

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Miles Davis - Dig

“These are some of the first ‘long playing’ recordings made possible by the advent of the LP. Recorded on October 5, 1951, this entire session has been remastered by top engineer Rudy van Gelder. (The two remaining selections from this date, ‘Conception’ and ‘My Old Flame’ are included in ‘Conception’, PRLP 7013.)

“Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins form one of the most empathetic and powerfully moving duos in jazz. Although they had recorded together before (‘Morpheus’, ‘Down’, ‘Whispering’, ‘Blue Room’) this was their first chance to ‘stretch out’ together on records.

“These recordings have much warmth. The emotions jut out of all the solos. On ‘Paper Moon’ and ‘Bluin’ this is especially true, but it is evidence on the upper tempos too. ‘Dig’ is fluid. The chord changes lend themselves to the long melodic lines that the soloists employ. There is also a continuity of feeling from one soloist to another which points up the aforementioned empathy.

“The group is made a sextet by altoman Jackie McLean on all numbers but ‘Paper Moon’. Jackie, in his teens when these recordings were made, was then a discipline of Charlie Parker. The Bird influence is still with him but the light of it is partly directed through the prism of Sonny Rollins.

“Incidentally, Bird was present for part of this record sort of visiting his children: Miles, who gained his greatest experience and had his largest pleasures playing with him; Jackie, the young disciple; and Sonny, the reed voice who has become the foremost standard bearer and advancer of the Parker tradition.

“The swinging rhythm here features the explosive drive of Art Blakey, the subtle power of Tommy Potter and the sensitive accompaniment and solos of the unduly underrated Walter Bishop.” (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Miles Davis (tp), Jackie McLean (a-sx), Sonny Rollins (t-sx), Walter Bishop Jr. (pi), Tommy Potter: (bs), Art Blakey (dr)

A1. Dig

A2. It's Only A Paper Moon

A3. Denial

B1. Bluing

B2. Out Of The Blue

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Jackie McLean - McLean's Scene

“You can take the word scene, man, and make it means almost anything you want. A scene can be a place, man; a scene can be a setting, man, or a scuffle. A scene can be active or static, moving or unmoving. A scene can evan be a thing. This scene is many of those things, man; this scene Jackie McLean’s Scene.

“I first became aware of Jackie McLean on night five or six years ago in one of New York’s upholstered gin-mills. The nightclub, which is named after a famous jazz alto saxophonist, was fast falling asleep. The waiters, with nothing to do, stood off in corners and griped about tips. The famous altoist, who, paradoxically, was self booked into the joint that bore his name, was on the bandstand to play his last set. Just then, a tall, rather lean kid with nervous mannerisms climbed unto the band stand. The kid played alto too. When he played he stood with his legs wide apart; his shoulders were hunched to such a degree that his neck disappeared into the cavern between them. He held his horn pointed down, and he wrestled with it, moving it from side to side and up and down with the inflections of the line he was playing. He played long ribbons of cascading eighth-notes, violent ‘blue’ notes and familiar ‘quotes’. It was embarrassingly obvious that he had listened to and watched Charlie Parker with avidity.

“Jackie was little more than a teenager then. He was the apprentice working side by side with his chosen ‘master’. And it’s quite natural for someone that young, and that impressionable to be overwhelmed by the huge ability, imagination and strength of Charlie Parker.

“The next, impressive, time I heard Jackie he was one of the front-line craftsmen in Charlie Mingus’ Workshop and Foundry. The difference in his playing was amazing; what had once been a rather aggressive reproduction of the sound and the fury of Charlie Parker had spread in all directions; even the sound of his horn had changed somewhat. This was roughly three years ago, when Mingus’ arrangements and compositions were sensitizing audiences and musicians alike with their unusual ferocity and moodiness. The overwhelming influence in every facet of Jackie’s playing was still Parker, but something else had happened. As Mingus said of him, ‘Jackie’s got some new things to play.’ I’m sure the Workshop must have been an awesome, a frightening and a frustrating thing for him, but playing with Mingus seemed to open Jackie’s ears a little more, and it gave him the assurance to take some harmonic chances.

“There’s much of the ‘hung lover’ in Jackie’s playing these days. This is a quality of feeling that has to do with loss, with hurt and with raw tenderness. In this respect, his playing has a relationship with the singing of Billie Holiday. Of course their individual approach to music is entirely different, but in their quality of feeling, in their emotional projection, both seem to be carrying a ‘torch’ for life.

“The quality of suffering that is projected in the music of both these artists is a quality that exists beneath the tough, worldly veneer that they musically affect. In Billie’s singing, this veneer is projected as a strange kind of stoicism; in Jackie’s playing, it’s an angry defiance. What’s underneath the sound and the style, in both cases, is something distinctly human, distinctly perplexed and perplexing. Their music is a crystalization of ‘hard’ living, of pleasure without joy, of disappointment and, in some respects, frustration. Underneath the hard and ‘jaded’ exterior of their music is a deep sensitivity for what’s right with the world through an expression of what’s wrong in the world.

“When Jackie plays, he expresses himself in hard clipped phrases that, superficially, act tough and rude, but that in themselves are an expresxsion of grief. He is asking, he is wondering, he is anxious. With the notable exception of ‘Old Folks’ tension is the main ingredient in his playing. The phrases push and pull; they climb and jab with a brittle vitality that has a sharp acuteness. His sound is that of a skirling piper who cries defiance, raw compassion and human frailty in one breath. This is McLean’s Scene as I hear it.

“‘Gone with the Wind’: Hardman, Chambers, Garland… Everyone solos. Bill Hardman makes some funny remarks, Jackie wails his lament with a high brittle quality.

“‘Our Love Is Here to Stay’: Waldron, Phipps and Taylor - Jackie’s sound has broadened somewhat here, he’s less aggressive, more contemplative.

“‘Mean to Me’: Hardman, Chambers and Garland are back again. Paul plays excellently on his plucked choruses, notice how he gets a ‘rhythm guitar’ sound on some of his notes, not only on this track on the others too.

“‘McLean’s Scene’: A blues by Jackie. Hardman, Garland, Chambers all solo at an easy, quick-step tempo. Jackie’s sound is looser, more pliable but he enunciates in an emphatic staccato fashion. Going out, the two horns blend splendidly.

“‘Old Folks’: This ballad has a broad nostalgic quality to it that is unusual for Jackie. There’s a plaintive wideness to his playing.

“‘Outburst’: An original by Jackie that should have been dedicated to all the Lord’s little ones. It has a hard, punching vitality at a mad tempo.

“Jackie McLean is a 27 year old New Yorker. He has played with Bud Powell, Mingus, Art Blakey and any other number of ‘name’ groups and musicians. He has appeared on Prestige with Miles, Gene Ammons, Hank Mobley and has four other albums of his own: ‘Lights Out’, ‘Jackie’s Pal’ (with Bill Hardman), ‘Jackie McLean & Co.’ and ‘Alto Madness’ with John Jenkins.

“Bill Hardman has played notably with Mingus and Blakey (both with Jackie). He too is 27, is from Cleveland and this is his third recorded excursion for the Prestige-New Jazz combine. The other two are on the ‘Pal’ and ‘McLean & Co.’ albums.

“Mal Waldron is something of a house pianist for Prestige. He has recorded with any number of different groups from Gene Ammons to Teddy Charles and has three albums of his own on Prestige and one on New Jazz. He’s from New York and will soon be 32.

“Red Garland is originally from Dallas, Texas; he was born there May 13, 1923. His most fruitful days were spent in Philadelphia, where he backed practically every kind of jazz style. He has played and recorded with Miles Davis on Prestige, has four albums of his own on Prestige, and has been an integral part of many dates on both Prestige and New Jazz.

“Art Taylor has had many dates with all sorts of Prestige and New Jazz outfits and one album of his own: ‘Taylor’s Wailers’. He is 30 and a New Yorker.

“Paul Chambers is from Pittsburgh, but moved early to Detroit. He plays with Miles most and records with many outfits from Prestige.

“Arturo Phipps (as he prefers to be known) has been in and around jazz since he first came to New York with the Three Bips and a Bop. This same group brough Babs Gonzales to national prominence. During those days he gigged all over 52nd Street, with as he puts it, ‘Just about everybody.’ Some of those people were Sonny Rollins, Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz; of a later date have been Don Elliott and Gigi Gryce. Arturo has a photography business of his own and still gigs all over New York. This is his first appearance on the current New Jazz series.” (Jack Maher. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Bill Hardman (tp), Mal Waldron/Red Garland (pi), Paul Chambers/Arthur Phipps (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Gone With The Wind

A2. Our Love Is Here To Stay

A3. Mean To Me

B1. McLean's Scene

B2. Old Folks

B3. Outburst

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Jackie McLean & Co.

“The members of Jackie McLean & Co., a young but active concern, may, at times, dress in a quasi-Madison Avenue style but their product may never be termed ‘gray flannel’.

“At the least board meeting (‘Jackie’s Pal’, LP 7068), Bill Hardman was appointed to the presiding body and in this present session, Ray Draper is taken in as a junior partner.

“Ray is a young New Yorker who will reach the age of 17 on August 3, 1957. During the winter of 1956-57 he led his own group of youngsters at the Sunday afternoon bashes which a Brooklyn organisation, ‘Jazz Unlimited’, was sponsoring at The Pad and Birdland. It was in this setting that he came to the attention of the older musicians around town, some of whom brought him to the attention of Bob Weinstock. Nat Hentoff, New York editor of ‘Down Beat’ heard Draper and commented in his ‘Counterpoint’ column, ‘he blows the hottest modern jazz tuba I’ve yet heard.’

“Currently attending the High School of Performing Arts, Ray expects to continue his studies at the Manhattan School of Music after graduation in June of 1958.

“Here, Ray is heard on ‘Minor Dream’, ‘Help’ and ‘Flickers’. In his first album as leader, scheduled for release in the near future, you will hear more of Ray and also learn more about him. Among other things, you will learn that Jackie McLean is one of Ray’s favourite musicians.

“It seems that Jackie is a favorite of a lot of the young, up and coming musicians. From this statement, people who are not familiar with him might surmise that he is a jazz veteran and perhaps in his thirties. They would be right in the first part of their assumption but Jackie started very young and when he cut his first records with Miles Davis in 1951 (‘Dig’, Prestige LP 7012) he was only 19. In the last year he has started to really mature in many ways. The compelling statements emanating from his swooping, biting, hotly flowing horn have earned the admiration of his elder as well as younger cohorts.

“Bill Hardman has been Jackie’s front line associate in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messenger during the latter part of 1956 and 1957. Although the same age as Jack, he is only come lately to big league jazz and is still a rookie, albeit a highly promising one. He comes to play and the very exuberance in his playing illustrates how much he enjoys his work. Bill’s is a punching, staccato style, brassy as the instrument on which it is played.

“Head ‘idea man’ of the firm, Mal Waldron, in addition to his piano solos, had contributed two originals to this meeting. ‘Flickers’, background music for a modern silent screen melodrama, was first heard in ‘All Night Long’ (LP 7073). Here it is done at a slower tempo. ‘Mirage’ is a melancholy ballad somewhat in the vein of ‘Abstraction’, a Waldron composition which appeared in Jackie’s ‘4, 5 and 6’ (LP 7048).

“Doug Watkins and Art Taylor weld their talents together to form a solid rhythmic base as they have many times in the past. Doug has also added to the raw material for the date with his minor blues, ‘Help’, in which Ray’s lugubrious tuba portrays the creeping evil and Jackie and Bill cry for assistance.

“The tunes that round out the session are Draper’s ‘Minor Dream’ with an introduction similar to Waldrons’s ‘Dee’s Dilemma’ but with different thereafter and McLean’s ‘Beau Jack’, a blues of funky dimensions with -beaucoup- Jackie.

“After consulting the stock reports and calling my broker, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s on thing for you to do - buy a share of Jackie McLean & Co.” (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Bill Hardman (tp), Ray Draper (tu), Mal Waldron (pi), Doug Watkins (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Flickers

A2. Help

A3. Minor Dream

B1. Beau Jack

B2. Mirage

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Jackie McLean - A Long Drink of the Blues

“For some reason, it has become traditional to apologise for the release of a blowing session. This is mostly due, I feel, to the growing influence on jazz of critics who judge the music by standards that have nothing whatever to do with it. Jazz has been judged, more and more increasingly, by standards that are most pertinent when the subject under discussion is European classical music, and it is only natural that it does not meet those standards. In the same way, if the great classical saxophonist Marcel Mule were to be judged by standards meant to apply to Jackie McLean, he would not measure up.

“All of which is to say that the little tune of the record, ‘A Long Drink of the Blues’, -is- a blowing date. As such, it is representative of the talents of the six musicians involved, how they felt at the time, and how well they played on the particular afternoon the session was recorded. The interest it holds is determined only by how well those six men play the blues. Curtis Fuller is one of the two or three of the young trombonists who have made any contribution to the instrument. Webster Young seems to have a greater understanding of Miles Davis than those countless young trumpeters who play like Miles simply because it is fashionable. Gil Coggins is a rarely recorded pianist, and this situation is somewhat inexplicable when you consider how much he has contributed to the few dates he has been on. Paul Chambers is, of course, one of the founders and the only remaining member of the great Miles Davis rhythm section. Louis Hayes is the drummer who has added so much to the groups of Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderly. And, in the area of special interest, Jackie McLean, of whom more in a moment, takes his first solo here on that instrument.

“You will also hear, under the guise of ‘A Long Drink of the Blues (take 1)’, something of what went on in the studio that afternoon. Obviously, formal organization of the type preferred by certain critics was not held in a very high esteem. Since Jackie McLean has made a very successful debut in ‘The Connection’, in which he revealed himself as an incisive naturalistic actor, it is with a certain amount of justifiable pride that we present here his first recorded performance in a speaking role.

“The other side of the LP requires, I think, slightly more extended commentary. It consists of three ballads performed by McLean on alto, Mal Waldron, Arthur Phipps and Art Taylor. Much has been made of musical empathy, and deservedly so, but apparently this quality is only considered worthy of discussion when it is possessed by recognized stars. Regardless of whether or not you happen to like their kind of music, it goes without saying that Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond play extraordinarily well together, one serving as perfect contrast for the other. And reams of copy have been written about the musical affinity that exists between Miles Davis and Gil Evans. It is my opinion that this quality, which is certainly to be desired, can be found nowhere more perfectly expressed than in the music of Jackie McLean and Mal Waldron.

“Both of them have a great understanding of dance music. Now I know that term is tossed around by writers when they wish to deprecate something (most often, they speak of a big band jazz date that didn’t quite come off as a good dance record), but the sense of dance is present in the music of some of our most important modern musicians: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins. The three ballads played here are, I think, much more danceable than many records specifically released for that purpose, and it is to the credit of McLean and Waldron that this should be the case.

“But their affinity goes much beyond that. Both men are as deeply committed to jazz as it is possible for musicians to be. As such, they have rejected certain stylistic elements that might have made their music more universally acceptable, but they have remained better jazzmen for it. Both of them, in sound and approach, project what can only be called a feeling of intense loneliness. It is that quality, I think, which is so grippingly attractive to some listeners and frightening to others. They do not play happy music, but certainly they do play an accurate reflection of the world in which they find themselves. In achieving this, they have abandoned some of what the critics are pleased to call ‘technique’, but they are both consummate musicians in that the style they have worked out is perfectly suited to the statement they have to make. This is something else they have in common with the previously mentioned Davis, Rollins and Coltrane (at an early point in his career, Jackie’s solos sounded like transcriptions for alto of Miles Davis trumpet phrases) as well as the musicians who have most directly shaped their styles: in Jackie’s case, that would be Charlie Parker; in Mal’s, without neglecting the influence of Bud Powell, it would be Thelonious Monk.

“Perhaps I have given the mistaken impression that these two men have been completely neglected in their careers. That is definitely not the case. At least part of Jackie’s situation has been a matter of personal difficulty, and for a time he was denied a New York cabaret card. But one does not need a card to perform in a theatre, and so he was able to join the cast of ‘The Connection’. Although the group which played that show was billed as the Freddie Redd Quartet, it was alto and rhythm, and it was Jackie who made the greatest impression, both as soloist and actor. Whatever merits the play itself may have had, it did prove that jazz could be an integral part of a theatrical evening, and, for once, the music used to prove such a point was uncompromising in its honesty. Surprisingly enough - or not, depending on your point of view - the critics (drama critics, this time) went for the jazz as much as for the play, and gave a much more accurate appraisal of both than the majority of jazz writers who commented on it. And one thing that was certainly accomplished was a turning point in Jackie McLean’s career.

“Mal Waldron’s is a different situation. For the last few years before her death, he was Billie Holiday’s accompanist. Although he learned much from that experience for which he is grateful, musically and otherwise, and although Billie always left a set open in the evening for Mal’s trio, the job did mean that he was absent for a while from New York’s battleground of young musicians. He is back now, and playing again, and has even more to contribute than before.

“When the smoke of the jazz battles have cleared away, when flash-in-pans have been forgotten and proper assessments have been made, I think it will be found that Jackie McLean and Mal Waldron have made some of the most valuable and durable music of their time. These three ballads will be an important part of that contribution.” (Joe Golberg. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (t-sx), Webster Young (tp), Curtis Fuller (tb), Gil Coggins/Mal Waldron (pi), Paul Chambers/Arthur Phipps (bs), Louis Hayes/Art Taylor (dr)

A1. A Long Drink Of The Blues (Take 1)

A2. A Long Drink Of The Blues (Take 2)

B1. Embraceable You

B2. I Cover The Waterfront

B3. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)

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Jackie McLean - Lights Out!

"To some people 'Lights Out' might bring to mind the series of radio chillers penned by Arch Oboler some years back. Perhaps these are the same people who went to sleep with the lights on when they were children. As the title of this LP and the name of a specific selection, 'Lights Out' signifies relaxation rather than terror.

"The recording bugaboo has been written about before and although the jazz musician's second home seem to be in the recording studio these days, tensions still exists for the self critical jazz artists when he is confronted with microphone, tape machine and clock.

"I don't doubt that the lights out method has been used before. I can recall two other specific instances where it was employed to good advantage. Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh recorded 'Fishin' Around' without the fluorescents (Prestige LP 7004) and Miles Davis' 'Blue Haze' (Prestige LP 161) flowed through only the light coming from the control room. Both times the absence of light helped relax the musicians and fit in with the mood of the piece. The dark can be very relaxing. You know how more perceptive your hearing becomes when your eyes are not forced to work. I'm sure that is why many musicians close their eyes when soloing.

"In this session, Bob Weinstock remembered the example of 'Blue Haze' and felt that the slow blues would be well served by a dim studio. It's more for the mood of the piece than to relax these effervescent musicians. That is how the title came about. The photograph taken at the time it was being taped proved to be an expressive reason for duplicating the title for the entire LP, although the remaining five numbers were done 'lights on'. While there is illumination let me shed some light on the featured performers.

"John Lenwood McLean (often erroneously spelled McClean) is known better as simply Jackie. A native New York (born May 17, 1932), Jackie was left a musical heritage by his father, John Sr., who played guitar with Tiny Bradshaw. He died in 1939. The incentive to further the heritage was given him by his mother when she bought him his first saxophone.

"Jackie grew up in Harlem with bop already flowering around him. He played in a neighborhood band that included Sonny Rollins and Andy Kirk Jr. on saxophones and Kenny Drew on piano. After school hours he would jam and study with Bud Powell and although he names Charlie Parker, Rollins and Kirk as his favorite saxophonists, Jackie states that 'Bud Powell is my inspiration'. In those afternoon sessions Bud taught him chord changes and imparted the important lesson of 'time'. It was in 1951 that Jackie made his first recordings. These can be heard on Miles Davis' 'Dig' (Prestige LP 7012).

"Actually it wasn't until 1955 that Jackie start playing jobs that brought his name before the public. With Paul Bley's quartet and George Wallington's quintet he started to fulfill the promise he had shown when Bud Powell unveiled him one night at Birdland some five years before. 1956 finds him with Charlie Mingus' quintet as another phase of his career opens.

"Donald Byrd is one of the young stalwarts from Detroit who have made their mark in the past year. He was studying at the Manhattan School of Music and jamming around New York when George Wallington hired him for his quintet in the summer of 1955. This is where he and Jackie played together at length for the first time. Later Donald was with anothr edition of the Wallington quintet (Prestige LP 7032) and in early 1956 replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers. His style is in the Dorham vein but his sonority is more akin to Fats Navarro's.

"Jocularity was in order in keeping with Jackie's and Donald's youthful personalities which blended musically and socially. Added to this combination was the exuberance of Donald's Detroit running mate from the Messengers. Doug Watkins, the whimsical self of Elmo Hope and the sarcastic, but not malicious, jibes of Arthur Taylor. This was the varied humorous climate in which the session took place.

"It is definitely what can be classified as a 'blowing session'. There are no written lines except for the ending of 'Inding'.

"'Lights Out', the show blues, starts with bass which is joined by drums four bars later and piano in the last four of the first chorus. From the beginning of the second chorus it's all solo with a short one by Elmo, then Jackie followed by muted Donald. After a longer Hope stint, Jackie and Donald take over for two choruses of two bar exchanges before Jackie takes it out.

"The medium blues, 'Kerplunk', a more modern treatment than 'Lights Out', begins with Elmo, followed by Donald and Jackie. Then Donald and Jackie take one chorus apiece for five rounds before going into 'The Peck' and out.

"'Inding' and 'Up' are based on the 'I Got Rhythm' type chord changes but in different keys. The former starts with the rhythm sections romping and Donald, Elmo and Jackie solo in that order. 'Up' begins and ends with a sort of call sounded by the horns. It's tempo is described by its title. Donald, Jackie, Elmo and Art Taylor appear in that order solowise.

"'A Foggy Day' has an intro by the horns and then Jackie comes out of his corner 'wailing'. Donald's solo is muted and he's followed by Elmo before Jackie comes in again. Everyone makes use of suspended rhythmic and harmonic interludes during their solos and the horns end it in this manner as they fade out over London town.

"'Lorraine' is the ballad and while she may not be sweet, she certainly is embraceable. Donald's solos sandwich Jackies'." (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Donald Byrd (tp), Elmo Hope (pi), Doug Watkins (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Lights Out

A2. Up

A3. Lorraine

B1. A Foggy Day

B2. Kerplunk

B3. Inding

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Jackie McLean - 4, 5 and 6

"Jackie McLean is musically coming of age. His playing, out of Charlie Parker and Sonny Rollins, has become a personalized, more individual voice in 1956 and he has not lost any of the basic-emotion, swinging qualities which help his style live up to the second syllable of his last name so well.

"Here the vitality of the McLean alto is heard in three different size groups.

"The rhythm section remains the same for all the combinations and is made up of Mal Waldron, one of the promising pianist-composers in the East, who has been Jackie's teammate in the Charlie Mingus group at various times during 1956. Doug Watkins, the Detroit bass product who made his mark with the Jazz Messengers and more recently Horace Silver's new group. Arthur Taylor, the mustachioed swinger heard previously with Art Farmer-Gigi Gryce, Bud Powell, etc. and who has been splitting the duties as Prestige's house drummer with Philly Joe Jones.

"The quartet finds Jackie in the standards department interpreting 'Sentimental Journey', 'Why Was I Born?' and 'When I Fall in Love'. Mal Waldron contributes solos on all three and Doug Watkins travels a solo road on the 'Journey'.

"The scene shifts to the originals section as another Detroit gift to the Eastern jazz locale, Donald Byrd, makes the group a quintet. Donald, after a short stint with the Messengers, has recently been featured with the Max Roach group. He and Jackie teamed up before in 'Lights Out' (Prestige LP 7035). Both originals in this segment of the session are by pianists. The sombre beauty of 'Abstraction' was created by Mal Waldron and pulsating 'Contour' was molded by Kenny Drew.

"Originals only continue as Hank Mobley, another ex-Messenger who has been promoted to vice-president in the new Horace Silver group, swells the group to sextet size. The oirignal is Charlie Parker's classic, 'Confirmation'.

"Thus - 4, 5 and 6... hencecforth - get your kicks." (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Donald Byrd (tp), Hank Mobley (t-sx), Mal Waldron (pi), Doug Watkins (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Sentimental Journey

A2. Why Was I Born

A3. Contour

B1. Confirmation

B2. When I Fall In Love

B3. Abstraction

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Jackie McLean & Dexter Gordon - The Source, Vol. 2

"This keenly-awaited sequel to 'The Meeting' could well have been subtitled 'Back to Bebop'. For bop, the intricate and beautiful music that burst on a surprised world 30 years ago, is indeed 'The Source' that gives the present LP its title.

"Jackie McLean and Dexter Gordon were closely identified with those sensational sounds that ushered in a whole new musical lifestyle. As a very young man Jackie was casually but significantly tutored by the late Bud Powell. A few years on and he was running around with Charlie Parker, digging the master, listening, learning, getting it together. Bird saw the promise in him, so did Miles Davis. He was on his way.

"Dexter Gordon, meanwhile, had to be regarded as Mr. Saxophone by all the hip tenor cats (not to mention contemporaries on alto, even baritone). Dexter's huge influence on musicians of that era has been well and truly put in perspective by Ira Gitler in 'Jazz Masters of the Forties'. Gordon was the man who was able to synthesize the truth preached by Lester Young, Charlie Parker and the Texas tenors into a cohesive and personal whole.

"Small wonder that Jackie writes on the jacket of 'The Meeting' (SteepleChase SCS-1005): 'He [Dexter] made me want to be a musician - I heard Bird after Dex.' Well, during two evenings at the Montmartre Jazzhus, Copenhagen, in July 1973, Jackie and Dexter, making their first records together, took a retrospective look at bebop and some of the compositions from those days that still inspired them. And in doing so they reaffirmed the validity and durability of that particular jazz style.

"Warning: This is not tired nostalgia, a friendly stroll down memory lane for the benefit of middle-aged dudes who are striving to recapture their youth. Jackie and Dexter have moved forward and onward. In the 1970s they are playing differently, with greater fire and invention than 20 years ago. That is as it should be. But the old lines from their youth continue to merit re-investigation.

"If you think about it, there is no earthly reason why 'Half Nelson' should be any less exciting as a blowing vehicle in 1973 than it was in 1942 when composer Miles Davis first recorded it (with Bird on tenor). 'Half Nelson' was based on Tadd Dameron's 'Ladybird'. McLean and Gordon follow what has become accepted tradition by going into the original theme after starting 'Half Nelson'. Dex og Jackie alternating on the breaks. Dexter obviously enjoys these good changes, from bottom to top, even finding time to give us a glimpse of the 'Mona Lisa'. They are to Jackie's liking, too, and Kenny Drew delineates a typically supple solo. Dig Niels-Henning - superb.

"Though 'I Can't Get Started' is a show tune from the 1930s, it became jazz property after Billy and Bunny had individually immortalised the song, and this melody continues to be a favourite with the boppers. Bird did it up a couple of time as only he could. Jackie and Dexter infuse the tune with that bittersweet flavour that spells e-m-o-t-i-o-n. Who said 'I Can't Get Started' was a trumpeters' property? He was wrong. Dexter's 'If You Could See Me Now' coda is a nice touch.

"We go back to 1947 again for a second Charlie Parker/Miles Davis collaboration, 'Another Hair-do' which the Bird supposedly recorded in Detroit on Christmas Day of that year. It's a blues, of course, and in this territory McLean and Gordon have few peers. Jackie makes several references to the little tag that Bird used to preface his set-closing 'Theme'. It's a long and highly-charged solo. When it comes to the quotation game Dexter is tops and in the course of his solo you will find snatches of 'Oop-bap-Sh'bam', his favourite 'And the Angels Sing', 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town', 'Frankie and Johnny', etc.

"When Dexter first recorded 'Dexter Digs In', Niels-Henning was four months old. That was in 1946 and more than a quarter of a century later Mr. Gordon still sounds as fresh as a spring dawn. This extended 're-write' of the tenor saxophonist's original (which, incidentally, had Bud Powell and Max Roach in the supporting cast!) finds Jackie and Kenny, besides Dexter, digging in. There is some kinetic conversation between the saxes before the rideout. This riffy opus, by the way, inspired singer Eddie Jefferson to write a memorable set of lyrics which he recorded in 1969.

"Jackie's closing tribute says it all. Dexter was his source and their collective source was bebop. What Jackie doesn't mention is his own part in these proceedings. There can be no doubt tha on those nights at the Montmartre, Mr. McLean acted as a catalyst to the man who was his own original inspiration. It could only happen in jazz and to have the occasion preserved on two great albums makes it a treat we can savour over and over again." (Mark Gardner. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Dexter Gordon (t-sx), Kenny Drew (pi), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bs), Alex Riel (dr)

1. Half Nelson

2. I Can't Get Started

3. On The Trail

4. Closing

5. Another Hair-Do

6. Dexter Digs In

7. Closing

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Jackie McLean & Dexter Gordon - The Meeting, Vol. 1

"Jackie McLean with Dexter Gordon - what could be more natural? Two of the genuine heavyweights of post-war jazz, whose style stem from the same musical revolution. Men of huge talent with so much in common. Such an obvious partnership that nobody thought of it before - not even when they were both contract artists for Blue Note in the 1960s. Happily, the stars were in the right alignment when Jackie arrived in Copenhagen for an engagement at the Montmartre Jazzhaus during July of 1975. Dexter and Jackie were recorded together at last with a superb rhythm section, a responsive audience and under perfect conditions. 'The Meeting' is that first of two albums that capture the full flavour of those marvellous nights.

"As Jackie indicates in his note on this jacket, Dexter was an early and potent influence on the younger man's conception. When McLean was just a kid of 14 or 15 he used to hang around places where Dex played. At that time 52nd Street was still going full blast and Gordon was the big man on tenor. Sometimes Jackie would even get to sit in with 'Long Tall Dexter', and they jammed side by side at different places through the years.

"McLean's soaring, incisive alto and Gordon's lithe, powerful tenor here combine to give it you straight from the hip. These are players who have never compromised as artists. They play what they feel, what they believe in. They project deep emotions, scorn the superficial. Their stories are about love, hardships, good times, dues, fun, frustration, hope and hurt. There's often a raw edge to their messages but then music be something more than a sugar-coated pill to put you to sleep. 'Sunset' will move you; it isn't meant to be an anaesthetic which is all that so many people (pity them) want from music.

"The fire is lit between Jackie and Dexter from the first ensemble of Gordon's blues All Clean through Sahib Shihab's bright 'Rue de la Harpe', Kenny Drew's pastel shaded 'Sunset' to Ferdie Grufe's 'On the Trail'. The furnace in the rhythmic sense is kept masterfully stoked by Kenny Drew, Niels Henning og Alex Riel (who have worked as a trio, off and on, for eight or nine years).

"For those who may be unfamiliar with these five musicians (is that possible?) here are some brief words of biographical background:

"John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean was born in New York City on May 17, 1932. He started on saxophone at an early age and was greatly helped by pianist Bud Powell. He was first heard on record with Miles Davis in 1951. During the 1950s Jackie worked and recorded with George Wallington, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and Donald Byrd among others. From 1959-61 he acted and played in Jack Galler's 'The Connection'. Since that time he has led his own groups, frequently toured Europe, played in Japan and taught at the Universy of Hartford. His development as a soloist, composer and leader can be traced on his albums for Prestige and Blue Note among others. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jackie made no records. His very welcome return was signalled by his first SteepleChase LP, 'Live at Montmartre' (SCS-1001), taped in August 1972. He now makes an annual trip to Denmark to play the Montmartre and record for SteepleChase.

"Dexter Gordon (born Los Angeles, February 27, 1923) worked in the big bands of Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Lionel Hampton and Billy Eckstine before branching out as a star small group soloist. Dexter cast a giant shadow over the tenor sax in the 1940s and such diverse musicians as John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Sonny Rollins all owed a stylistic debt to Gordon. His many recordings for Savoy, Dial, Bethlehem, Jazzland, Blue Note and Catfish are essential listening. Since moving to Europe in September 1962 Dexter has played all over the Continent, but he returns regularly to New York for festival dates and recording sessions. Gordon has been resident of Copenhagen, a city he loves, since the mid-1960s.

"Kenny Drew (born New York, August 28, 1928) has lived in Copenhagen since January 1964, having settled in Europe three years earlier. Kenny, on of the best pianists in the Bud Powell tradition, worked with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Brew Moore and Buddy DeFranco in the early 1950s. Later he was with Art Blakey, Kenny Dorham and a host of other groups. Drew has played extensively with Dexter in Europe, but they have an association that goes back to their days in California around 1955-56 (Drew played on Dexter's Bethlehem LP 'Daddy Plays the Horn' and his Blue Notes 'Dexter Calling...' and 'One Flight Up'). Kenny has known Jackie since they were youngsters, too, and he was the pianist on McLean's Blue Note sides 'Blueswalk' and 'Jackie's Bag'. Drew can be heard as leader on 'Duo' (SteepleChase SCS-1002), 'Everything I Love' (SCS-1007) and the forthcoming 'Duo, Volume 2' (SCS-1010).

"Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (born Osted, Denmark, May 27, 1946) is just about everyone's favourite bassists; he seems to get better and better. Having made his first records at the age of 15 (with Bud Powell), Niels-Henning has since been heard with a staggering array of American start from Albert Ayler to Dizzy Gillespie. In the last year or so he has gained great exposure with Oscar Peterson who features him prominently. With his wonderful sound and incredible technique, Niels-Henning emphasies that the electric bass is a redundant invention.

"Alex Riel (born September 13, 1940) is a considerable exciting drummer who was inspired to become a percussionist at the age of 15 by hearing Zutty Singleton's work on the Fats Waller recording of 'Moppin' and Boppin'. Like Niels-Henning, he has backed numerous Americans - Sahib Shihab, Brew Moore, Archie Shepp, Ben Webster, Paul Gonsalves, Kenny Dorham, Stuff Smith, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, etc. He has recorded under his own name (with Drew and Niels-Henning) for Fona. He was on Jackie's 'Live at Montemartre' and will be heard on Ken McIntyre's forthcoming SteepleChase collection.

"I do not propose to describe in detail the music on these sides. Its high quality is readily apparent.  The brisk 'All Clean' is 17 minutes of pure unalloyed joy. Dexter is the first soloist and is followed by Jackie, Kenny, Niels-Henning (he gets into a remarkable groove). Then come the chorus exchanges between Jackie (always in the left channel) and Dex.

"Sahib Shihab's 'Rue de la Harpe' is a typical, robust hard bop line, the sort Jackie does so well. According to the composer: 'This is a very small street in the Latin Quarter in Paris.' Jackie really stretches here, Dexter holds sway as only he can, and Kenny creates the sort of nimble solo for which he is renowned.

"In 'Sunset' there are lengthy, feeling-filled, declarative statements by Jackie and Dexter, a mellifluous Drew passage and then back to the haunting theme. For a more intimate version of this melody hear Kenny playing it solo on his 'Everything I Love' record.

"Ferdie Grofe's 'On the Trail' has been a firm favourite with musicians since Jimmy Heath re-discovered the tune which has a definitive 'out West', loping feel to it. Jackie handles the theme, Dexter bursts forth, riding the range at a relentless canter. McLean's solo in this well known movement from Grofe's 'Grand Canyon Suite' bristles with fiery ferocity. Kenny digs into a swinging veing and his lines are positively mercurial.

"That's 'The Meeting' - a summit meeting of two jazz superstars. Are you ready for 'The Source'? Can you bear the suspense of waiting that long? Get set for 'Half Nelson', 'I Can't Get Started', 'Another Hair-do' and 'Dexter Digs In'! (Mark Gardner. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Dexter Gordon (t-sx), Kenny Drew (pi), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (bs), Alex Riel (dr)

1. Introduction By Jackie Mclean

2. All Clean

3. Rue De La Harpe

4. Callin'

5. Sunset

6. On The Trail

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