JACKIE McLEAN – Jacknife (1965/66) Blue Note–BN-LA457-H2/UA – 2LP-1975

Label: Blue Note ‎– BN-LA457-H2

Series: The Blue Note Re-Issue Series –

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1975

Style: Post Bop

A1 to B3 recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in mid 1965.

C1 to D3 rec. at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 12, 1966.

Art Direction, Design – Bob Cato

Photography By – Raymond Ross

Liner Notes – Ira Gitler

Producer [Original Sessions Produced By] – Alfred Lion

Producer [Produced For Release By] – Michael Cuscuna

Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Runout etched): BN-LA 457-1- UA

Matrix / Runout (Side 4 Runout etched): BN-LA 457-4 UA

Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Runout etched): BN-LA 457-2 UA

Matrix / Runout (Side 3 Runout etched): BN-LA 457-3 UA

side 1

A1 - On The Nile ...................................................................................................... 12:30

A2 - Climax ................................................................................................................ 9:19

side 2

B1 - Soft Blue ........................................................................................................... 7:25

B2 - Jacknife ............................................................................................................. 6:15

B3 - Blue Fable ......................................................................................................... 6:00

Personnel:

Jackie McLean – alto saxophone

Charles Tolliver – trumpet (A1, B1, B3)

Lee Morgan – trumpet (A2, B1, B2)

Larry Willis – piano

Larry Ridley – bass

Jack DeJohnette – drums, percussion

side 3

C1 - High Frequency ............................................................................................... 11:25

C2 - Combined Effort ................................................................................................ 9:24

side 4

D1 - Moonscape ........................................................................................................ 6:47

D2 - Jossa Bossa ...................................................................................................... 7:00

D3 - The Bull Frog ..................................................................................................... 4:35

Personnel:

Jackie McLean – alto saxophone

Larry Willis – piano

Don Moore – bass

Jack DeJohnette – drums, percussion

All the material in this album is previously unreleased and issued here for the first time.

Jackie McLean's Jacknife sessions it actually comprises two volumes, one recorded in 1965 and the other in 1966. They were originally given the catalogue number of BLP 4223 and BLP 4236, but were shelved for ten years and issued together in 1975 as a double LP, with the number BN-LA457-H2. Whilst the 1965 tracks were released on a limited edition CD in 2002, those from 1966 have never been released singularly.

A heady combination of post-bop, avant-garde, and soul jazz, recorded on the cusp of the sale of Blue Note to Liberty.

The tapes languished in the Blue Note vaults for a decade until Michael Cuscuna discovered them and produced this double-helping for United Artists.

Razor-sharp Van Gelder recordings which United Artists engineers manage to capably reproduce. As Cuscuna said, the only thing you have to do to a Van Gelder recording is keep your hands behind your back and not mess it up.

...Starting with Let Freedom Ring, McLean embraced modality and wasn’t sheepish to use honks and squeaks in his solos. This 1965 session, showcases McLean’s exciting vision of jazz in all its glory.

With a rhythm section of Larry Willis, Larry Ridley and Jack DeJohnette, as well as two trumpeters, Charles Tolliver and Lee Morgan, McLean crafts an album full of urgency and intensity. McLean himself thrives on the modal structures of Tolliver’s “On The Nile” and DeJohnette’s “Climax,” producing fiery solos that illustrate his vivid imagination as a soloist. He also contributes the well-thought out original “Blue Fable” to the proceedings. Morgan makes his strongest impression on “Blue Fable” and also plays on “Climax” as well as his own tune, “Soft Blue,” which comes off as, maybe, a tad too conventional for this album. Tolliver trumps Morgan, though, with his writing as well as his unique improvisations, especially his dramatic thoughts on “On The Nile” and his ability to match McLean’s fury on the title track.

Willis’s solos are models of restraint and provide an excellent contrast to the three horn players. DeJohnette’s playing on his own composition particularly is an instructive example of a jazz drummer constantly building up and releasing tension, not unlike what Tony Williams did on McLean’s One Step Beyond.

During the heyday of Blue Note, many fine sessions such as Jacknife did not see the light of day until many years later. So, while it’s admittedly not surprising that jazz of this calibre was not immediately released, it’s still a tad confounding that producer Alfred Lion could let this fine music linger in the vault.          (Review by Robert Gilbert / AAJ)

If you find it, buy this album!