Jackie Mclean : 4 5 And 6 (Jpn) (Mlps)

CD [Cover Art for Jackie Mclean / 4 5 And 6 (Jpn) (Mlps)]

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Your Price: $34.42 (List Price: $42.98)
Availability: In Stock
Sell date: 3/2008
Label: Universal Japan
Mfg's Catalog#: CCO9238
CDC Part#: 1161949
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 Notes & Reviews
 
Limited Ed.
 
Full title is: 4, 5 and 6 [Japan]

  Art Taylor - Drums
  Donald Byrd - Trumpet
  Doug Watkins - Bass
  Hank Mobley - Sax (Tenor)
  Jackie McLean - Sax (Alto)
  Mal Waldron - Piano

In 1956 Jackie McLean was only beginning to assert himself as a true individualist on the alto saxophone, exploring the lime-flavored microtones of his instrument that purists or the misinformed perceived as being off-key or out of tune. 4, 5 and 6 presents McLean's quartet on half the date, and tunes with an expanded quintet, and one sextet track -- thus the title. Mal Waldron, himself an unconventional pianist willing to explore different sizings and shadings of progressive jazz, is a wonderful complement for McLean's notions, with bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor the impervious team everyone wanted for his rhythm section at the time. The quartet versions of 'Sentimental Journey,' 'Why Was I Born?,' and 'When I Fall in Love' range from totally bluesy, to hard bop ribald, to pensive and hopeful, respectively. These are three great examples of McLean attempting to make the tunes his own, adding a flattened, self-effaced, almost grainy-faced texture to the music without concern for the perfectness of the melody. Donald Byrd joins the fray on his easygoing bopper 'Contour,' where complex is made simple and enjoyable, while Hank Mobley puts his tenor sax to the test on the lone and lengthy sextet track, a rousing version of Charlie Parker's risk-laden 'Confirmation.' It's Waldron's haunting ballad 'Abstraction,' with Byrd and McLean's quick replies, faint and dour, that somewhat illuminates the darker side. As a stand-alone recording, 4, 5 and 6 does not break barriers, but does foreshadow the future of McLean as an innovative musician in an all-too-purist mainstream jazz world. [A Japanese edition of 4, 5 and 6 was issued in 2004.] ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

 
 Tracks and Sound Clips   Click here for the Windows Media player
 
Sentimental Journey - 9:57 Play the Windows Media clip
Why Was I Born? - 5:14 Play the Windows Media clip
Contour - 4:59 Play the Windows Media clip
Confirmation - 11:20 Play the Windows Media clip
When I Fall in Love - 5:33 Play the Windows Media clip
Abstraction - 7:56 Play the Windows Media clip
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People who buy jackie mclean CDS may also enjoy, in order of descending probability, the works of Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Bobby Hutcherson, Dexter Gordon, Lou Donaldson, Joe Henderson, Horace Silver, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, Booker Ervin, Sonny Clark, Blue Mitchell, Andrew Hill.

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