Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Essence All Stars: Jackie's Blues Bag

97

The Essence All Stars: Jackie's Blues Bag

By

Sign in to view read count
The Essence All Stars: Jackie's Blues Bag
Known for his unique tone and hard bop character, Jackie McLean, like Charlie Parker before him, incorporated the blues into his music. Using different ensemble lineups for each tune, saxophonists Justin Robinson, Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Craig Handy, Joe Lovano, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson and Abraham Burton team with a rhythm section of pianist LaMont Johnson, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Idris Muhammad, to offer up this tribute to the McLean the master.

The session opens with LaMont Johnson's Gospel introduction to "Bluesnik." Johnson, who worked and recorded with McLean from 1964 to 1968, appeared on McLean's 1967 recording New And Old Gospel. Here, he uses heavy bottom chords and full harmonies in the Gospel idiom to open and close the piece. Later, Johnson performs his own composition, "Dr. Mac Jackie," as a solo rendering. But it's the saxophone players who emulate McLean in different ways and provide the familiar hard bop sound.

Marsalis shows good blues form and feeling on "Bluesnik," and his soprano feature on the up-tempo "Dr. Jackle" swings hard. Lovano brings in an 'outside' approach as a duo with drummer Idris Muhammad by incorporating well-known melodies with less familiar ideas into "Blues Inn." In what may be the highlight of the session, altoist Vincent Herring pushes the envelope on "Midtown Blues" with able support from the others.

In the liner notes, Herring writes, "Jackie has the ability to reach the intellectual, sophisticated listener and the down home crowd." This collaborative effort makes a fine tribute to a living legend, and the saxophonists manage to emulate Jackie McLean well. It's just too bad he wasn't included in the session himself.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Jackie's Blues Bag | Year Released: 1997 | Record Label: Hip Bop Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.