McLean, Jackie - Jacknife

New Vinyl Record - McLean, Jackie - Jacknife

Blue Note Tone Poet Edition

Jackie McLean’s evocative 1965 album Jacknife captured the alto saxophonist in an envelope-pushing post-bop mode. The session featured two trumpeters—Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver—who are heard together to great effect on Morgan’s groovy “Soft Blue,” but otherwise take turns in the spotlight. McLean also assembled a deeply engaged rhythm section for the date featuring pianist Larry Willis, bassist Larry Ridley, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. McLean’s fiery sound ignites a wide range of material from the expansive modal explorations of Tolliver’s “On The Nile” to the churning rhythms of DeJohnette’s “Climax” to McLean’s own “Blue Fable,” which delivers a loping melody over shifting feels before settling into a deep pocketed swing for emphatic solos by McLean and Morgan.

A1 On The Nile
A2 Climax
B1 Soft Blue
B2 Jacknife
B3 Blue Fable