Jackie McLean, one of the true greats of the alto saxophone will perform with his sextet on Thursday, January 27 at 8 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium. Accompanying him will be his son, Rene McLean (saxophones, flute), trumpeter Raymond Williams and trombonist Steve Davis. The rhythm section includes Alan Palmer (piano), Nat Reeves (bass), and Eric McPherson (drums).
McLean, who grew up in a musically-oriented family, started playing the alto sax at age 15. Within four years, he had already worked with tenor sax player Sonny Rollins, made a record with Miles Davis, and played in New York City with innovators like Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Art Blakey, Charlie Mingus, and Art Taylor.
Influenced by Charlie Parker, a genius in his own right, McLean has a hard driving, harmonically adventurous style of playing. He does not imitate Parker, but rather develops Parker's rhythmic conceptions, adapting them to his own unique tone and tempo. He can play a ballad like "Yesterdays", a blues piece like "Midtown Blues", and a blazing be-bop number like "Au Privave" with equal ease-the signature of a musician who is thoroughly versed in technique and aware of the subtle changes around him.
The remarkable aspect of his playing, though, is that the listener hears a "collage" of sounds-as if McLean was playing the history and evolution of jazz music itself. He has the ability to combine a raw, urgent, be-bop sound with "free jazz" of the '60's, creating moments of arresting rhythm and unconventional timing. "Expect the unexpected" is the jazz maxim that comes to mind while describing McLean.
His repertoire for Thursday evening includes several original compositions that have, as "Downbeat" magazine said, "a decided modernist edge while maintaining that white-hot, hard-bop core that McLean has been noted for since the '50's."
Whatever his repertoire may be, his music always has elements of honesty and sincerity, prerequisites for improvisation in jazz. He is one of the few masters of the alto saxophone alive today, and there will certainly be plenty of energy in Spaulding Auditorium when his sextet starts to swing!
A pre-performance discussion led by senior lecturer in music Fred Haas, will take place at 7 p.m. in the faculty lounge of the Hopkins Center. Tickets for Jackie McLean's Jazz Dynasty are $14.50 for reserved seats and $11.50 for Dartmouth students; they are available at the Hopkins Center box office.
