Jackie McLean

John Lenwood " Jackie" McLean is a Saxophoniste viola of Jazz and professor born the May 17th 1931 in the district of Harlem with New York and deceased the March 31st 2006 in its residence of Hartford of the continuations of a long illness.

Biography

Jackie McLean was born in a family from Musicien S. His father was Guitariste in the orchestra of Tiny Bradshaw. After its death in 1939, it continues its musical education near its godfather and of his father-in-law who had a store of discs. He discovers also the jazz and the saxophone at the time of transfered family with the Apollo Theater and also learns with the saxophonist Sony Rollins and the pianist Bud Powell, who provides him his first engagements in his formation and Miles Davis presents to him with which he records at the 19 years age.

Jackie McLean also plays with Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and joined the Jazz Messengers of the beater Art Blakey. It then carries out its first recordings as a leader for the label Prestige. In 1959, it records a first album Jackie' S bag for the prestigious label Blue Note (four other will follow this same year). Its habituation with heroin then closes to him the door of many clubs of jazz. McLean was under contract with Blue Note Records of 1959 to 1967 after having recorded for Prestige. Blue Note then offered better financial conditions and a better artistic assistance (in particular because of presence of the sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder). Its work for Blue Note is of very good invoice.

Of 1962 to its death, it incorporated in the Hard bop the innovations of the modal Jazz and the Free jazz. He was musical director of the Jackie McLean Institute off Jazz of the Hartt School off Music of the University of Hartford in the Connecticut, where since 1968 he taught the Jazz and the history of the music afro - American.

In 1964 it made several months of prison for reasons related to drug.

In the years 1970, McLean and its wife Dollie founded the Artists' Collective, Inc. of Hartford, an association whose objective is to preserve the art and the culture of the African Diaspora.

McLean received a American Jazz Masters fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001.

Partners

As leader, McLean recorded with many musicians of reputation among which one can quote Donald Byrd, Sony Clark, Ornette Coleman, Dexter Gordon, Billy Higgins, Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III and Mal Waldron. McLean also helped of many musicians to express their talents: the saxophonist Tina Brooks, the pianist Larry Willis, the trumpet player Bill Hardman and the sandhog Ray Draper belong to those which profited from its support in the years 1950 and 1960. Beaters like Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Lenny White, Michael Carvin and Carl Allen profited from the experiment of McLean at the beginning of their career. Later McLean formed of the whole with its students with Hartford, of which with the trombonist Steve Davis and her son Rene, saxophonist and flutist.

Principal recordings

Swing, Swang, Swingin' (1959)
New Soil (1959)
Capuchin Swing (1959)
Bluesnik (1961)
Jackie' S Bag (1961)
Let Freedom Boxing ring (1962)
One Step Beyond (1963)
Destination… Out! (1963)
Vertigo (1963)
Jacknife ( sic ) (1965)
Right Now! (1965)
Ode to Super (1973)
Dr. Jackle (1979; recorded in 1966)
Contour (1980)
Dynasty (1990)
Natural Servant boy (2000)

Sources

A.B. Spellman, Furnace Jazz Lives . University off Michigan Close
Discographie supplements
All Music Guide
MusicWeb
NEA Jazz Masters
Official story of L ''' Artists' Collective Inc. ''
Collective History of L ''' Artists' Inc ''.

External bonds

Jackie McLean on '' Hard Bop Home Page ''
Obituary in English in '' The Guardian '' (London) by Fordham, on April 3rd, 2006

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