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Jackie McLean
McLean in 1982
Background information
Born	John Lenwood McLean (1931-05-17)May 17, 1931 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 31, 2006(2006-03-31) (aged 74) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres	Jazz hard bop post-bop jazz fusion avant-garde jazz
Occupations	Musician composer educator
Instrument	Alto saxophone
Years active	1951–2004

John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006)^[1] was an Americanjazzalto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to theDownBeat Hall of Fame in the year of their death.

McLean was born inHarlem,New York City.^[2][1] His father, John Sr., played guitar inTiny Bradshaw's orchestra.^[3] After his father's death in 1939, Jackie's musical education was continued by his godfather, his record-store-owning stepfather, and several noted teachers. He also received informal tutoring from neighborsThelonious Monk,Bud Powell, andCharlie Parker. During high school McLean played in a band withKenny Drew,Sonny Rollins, and Andy Kirk, Jr. (the saxophonist son^[4] ofAndy Kirk).

Along with Rollins, McLean played onMiles Davis'Dig album when he was 20 years old. As a young man he also recorded withGene Ammons,Charles Mingus (forPithecanthropus Erectus),George Wallington, and as a member ofArt Blakey'sJazz Messengers. McLean joined Blakey after reportedly being punched by Mingus. Fearing for his life, McLean pulled out a knife and contemplated using it against Mingus in self-defense, but later stated he was grateful that he had not stabbed the bassist.^[5]

McLean's early recordings as leader were in thehard bop school. He later became an exponent ofmodal jazz without abandoning his foundation in hard bop. Throughout his career he was known for a distinctive tone, akin to the tenor saxophone and often described with such adjectives as "bittersweet", "piercing", or "searing", a slightly sharppitch, and a strong foundation in theblues.

McLean was a heroin addict throughout his early career, and the resulting loss of his New York Citycabaret card forced him to undertake a large number of recording dates to earn income in the absence of nightclub performance opportunities. Consequently, he produced an extensive body of recorded work in the 1950s and 1960s. He was under contract withBlue Note Records from 1959 to 1967, having previously recorded forPrestige. Blue Note offered better pay and more artistic control than other labels, and his work for this organization is highly regarded and includes leadership and sideman dates with a wide range of musicians, includingDonald Byrd,Sonny Clark,Lee Morgan,Ornette Coleman,Dexter Gordon,Freddie Redd,Billy Higgins,Freddie Hubbard,Grachan Moncur III,Bobby Hutcherson,Mal Waldron,Tina Brooks and many others.

In 1962, he recordedLet Freedom Ring for Blue Note. This album was the culmination of attempts he had made over the years to deal with harmonic problems in jazz, incorporating ideas from thefree jazz developments ofOrnette Coleman and the "new breed" which inspired his blending of hard bop with the "new thing": "the search is on, Let Freedom Ring".Let Freedom Ring began a period in which he performed withavant-garde jazz musicians rather than the veteranhard bop performers he had been playing with previously. His adaptation ofmodal jazz and free jazz innovations to his vision of hard bop made his recordings from 1962 on distinctive.

McLean recorded with dozens of musicians and had a gift for spotting talent. SaxophonistTina Brooks, trumpeterCharles Tolliver, pianistLarry Willis, trumpeterBill Hardman, and tubistRay Draper were among those who benefited from McLean's support in the 1950s and 1960s. Drummers such asTony Williams,Jack DeJohnette,Lenny White,Michael Carvin, andCarl Allen gained important early experience with McLean.

In 1967, his recording contract, like those of many other progressive musicians, was terminated by Blue Note's new management. His opportunities to record promised so little pay that he abandoned recording as a way to earn a living, concentrating instead on touring. In 1968, he began teaching atThe Hartt School of theUniversity of Hartford. He later set up the university's African American Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies program. His Steeplechase recordingNew York Calling, made with his sonRené McLean, showed that by 1980 the assimilation of all influences was complete.

In 1970, he and his wife,Dollie McLean, along with jazz bassistPaul (PB) Brown, founded theArtists Collective, Inc. of Hartford, an organization dedicated to preserving the art and culture of theAfrican Diaspora. It provides educational programs and instruction in dance, theatre, music and visual arts. The membership of McLean's later bands were drawn from his students in Hartford, includingSteve Davis and his sonRené, who is a jazz saxophonist and flautist as well as a jazz educator. Also in McLean's Hartford group wasMark Berman, the jazz pianist and broadway conductor of Smokey Joe's Cafe and Rent. In 1979 he reached No. 53 in theUK Singles Chart with "Doctor Jackyll and Mister Funk".^[6] This track, released onRCA as a 12" single, was an unusual sidestep for McLean to contribute towards the funk/disco revolution of the late 1970s. Many people, at the time, in the clubs where it was played confused the female singers on the track with his name thinking he was actually female.

He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship from theNational Endowment for the Arts in 2001 and numerous other national and international awards. McLean was the only American jazz musician to found a department of studies at a university and a community-based organization almost simultaneously. Each has existed for over three decades.

McLean died on March 31, 2006, inHartford, Connecticut, after a long illness.^[1][7] In 2006 he was elected to theDownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame via the International Critics Poll.^[8] He is interred inWoodlawn Cemetery,The Bronx, New York City, with an image of him playing the saxophone, etched in black granite, high on a hill.^[9]

A. B. Spellman's 1966 study,Black Music, Four Lives: Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Nichols, Jackie McLean, still in print,^[10] includes extensive mid-career reflections by McLean on his youth and career to date.Derek Ansell's full-length biography of McLean,Sugar Free Saxophone.^[11] details the story of his career and provides a full analysis of his music on record.

Compilations

• Complete 1955-1957 Quartet Quintet Sextet Sessions (Jazz Connections, 2007) – comprisesPresenting... Jackie McLean up toFat Jazz
• The Complete Jubilee Sessions (Lone Hill Jazz, 2008) – combinesFat Jazz andJackie McLean Quintet

The sortable table's default is the date of the recording session. An asterisk (*) behind the album's title signifies only a minor contribution by McLean to the recording.

• The Connection, as himself (dir.Shirley Clarke)
• Jackie McLean on Mars (1980), as himself (dir. Ken Levis)Jackie McLean on Mars
• Ken Burns' Jazz (2000), as himself (dir.Ken Burns)

• Derek Ansell,Sugar Free Saxophone: The Life and Music of Jackie McLean. London:Northway Publications, 2012.ISBN 978-0-9557888-6-4
• Guillaume Belhomme,Jackie McLean. Nantes: Lenka lente, 2014.ISBN 978-2-9545845-4-6

This article'suse ofexternal links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Pleaseimprove this article by removingexcessive orinappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate intofootnote references.(January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Jackie McLean atAllmusic
• Jackie McLean discography atDiscogs
• Jackie McLeanArchived March 3, 2016, at theWayback Machine complete discography from Music City
• Jackie McLean discography at JazzDisco.org
• Jackie McLean at NEA Jazz Masters
• Jackie McLean at Hard Bop
• Jackie McLean audio interviews at New England Jazz History Database
• Artists Collective Inc. – official history
• Artists Collective Inc. – history
• Jackie McLean obituary "Blues for Jackie" in HartfordCourant (Hartford, CT) by Owen McNally, April 1, 2006
• Jackie McLean – Jazz Portraits from the WGBH Archives, a radio documentary fromWGBH Radio Boston
• Jackie McLean on Mars – film

• 1931 births
• 2006 deaths
• American male jazz composers
• American jazz alto saxophonists
• American male saxophonists
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• Miles Davis
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• SteepleChase Records artists
• Prestige Records artists
• Inner City Records artists
• Verve Records artists
• Blue Note Records artists
• University of Hartford Hartt School faculty
• 20th-century American saxophonists
• Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
• 20th-century American jazz composers
• 20th-century American male musicians
• DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members
• NEA Jazz Masters

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