| A Fickle Sonance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | End of November 1962[1] | |||
| Recorded | October 26, 1961 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio,Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, US | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 35:18 | |||
| Label | Blue Note BST 84089 | |||
| Producer | Alfred Lion | |||
| Jackie McLean chronology | ||||
| ||||
A Fickle Sonance is an album by American saxophonistJackie McLean recorded in 1961 and released on theBlue Note label.[2] It features McLean in a quintet with trumpeterTommy Turrentine, pianistSonny Clark, bassistButch Warren and drummerBilly Higgins.
The "sonance" of the album’s title is an obsolete word for a sound or a tune.[3]
The opening track "Five Will Get You Ten" was originally credited to pianist Clark, but later co-writing credit was given toThelonious Monk. The song is now believed to have been written solely by Monk as "Two Timer", though it was never recorded by him. The song'slead sheet was allegedly discovered by Clark in Monk's home,[4] or the home of jazz patronessPannonica de Koenigswarter,[5] and passed off as a Clark tune to pay for his drug addiction. The song's debut recording under its original title was by Monk's son,T. S. Monk on his 1997 albumMonk on Monk.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [7] |
TheAllMusic review by Al Campbell awarded the album 3 stars and stated:
Even thoughA Fickle Sonance preceded McLean's intense 1962 albumLet Freedom Ring, the playing remained in a swingingblues-oriented style, showing no hint of the direction his music was about to take.[8]
In a 2016 review flophouse.com said:
If Jackie McLean’s career would’ve ended right after recordingA Fickle Sonance, people would certainly have pointed out the alto saxophonist’s development from one ofCharlie Parker’s most proficient disciples to an alto saxophonist that made his mark with a series of excellent Blue Note recordings from 1959 to 1961, employing his highly emotional, piercing sound: already a great legacy. However, McLean raised the bars considerably the following years, breaking and entering hard bop’s living quarters with a series of vanguard recordings in cooperation withavantgardists likeOrnette Coleman.[9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Five Will Get You Ten" | Thelonious Monk,Sonny Clark | 7:06 |
| 2. | "Subdued" | Jackie McLean | 5:54 |
| 3. | "Sundu" | Clark | 4:54 |
| 4. | "A Fickle Sonance" | McLean | 6:49 |
| 5. | "Enitnerrut" | Tommy Turrentine | 5:48 |
| 6. | "Lost" | Butch Warren | 4:47 |
