Jazz Groove Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 Does anyone know what he's been up to lately? Does he perform anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrugs Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 I believe he is still the chair of the Hart School of Music in Hartford,CT. However, in my almost 3 years of living near Hartford, McLean has played maybe twice. I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 Jackie took some time off for health reasons last year. However, he did a week at the Iridium in May (for his 72nd birthday). I was told he played great. I think he is slowly coming back on the scene, and I hope I can see him at his annual pre-Xmas bash at the Vanguard (I had to skip the Iridium, unfortunately). Recordings are another issue. He hasn't recorded since Nature Boy in the late 90s. When I asked Evered on the old board about the status of his affiliation with BN, I got the customary rude reply. It's amazing to me that a player of his stature has trouble getting a record deal. It's not like he has chop problems - he played superbly at the Andrew Hill/Jackie McLean/Bobby Hutcherson/Billy Higgins show in NYC in June 2000. He's just not a young lion, and lazy record companies find that harder to market. I for one will continue to buy any record he makes and see him as much as possible. He is one of the few survivors from a uniquely creative era in jazz the likes of which we will never see again. There is still great music being made today, but Jackie's era was special. That's just my opinion, of course. Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkertown Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 It's not like he has chop problems - he played superbly at the Andrew Hill/Jackie McLean/Bobby Hutcherson/Billy Higgins show in NYC in June 2000. Was this recorded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Groove Posted July 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 He deserves to be in the studio. I can’t understand why some of these giants are not signed to any labels. I was all set to see him Dev of 2002, but he canceled. I couldn't make the May show. If he does play NY, I have to see him. He is one of the few titians left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 By the way, I picked up Jackie's "Nature Boy" from the late 90's - in a trade from Conn500 a few months back, and I really love this disc. It's a side of Jackie I hadn't heard as much (if ever?) - more 'inside', and it's all standards, but still some very tasty stuff, kinda like the way Joe Henderson treats standards - and above all, it really speaks with Jackie's voice. I wanted to tell others not to overlook this gem, especially if you see it as a bargain somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mule Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 I saw him in NYC and LA 2-3 years ago and he was terrific both times. At Birdland he was playing with his son, Rene, and in LA he was playing with the Cedar Walton trio. I knew he'd been sick for a while and when I saw the title of this thread I got worried for a minute... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Groove Posted July 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 Wondering how many greats from the 40's-60's are out there but don't have a concrete record deal. Starting with Dr. Lonnie Liston Smith. Lou Donaldson, Jackie McLEan (of course), Dizzy Recce, Donald Byrd. Just a few that entered my mind. There has to be many more. These cats definded jazz. They should be in the studio laying down some more shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 By the way, I picked up Jackie's "Nature Boy" from the late 90's - in a trade from Conn500 a few months back, and I really love this disc. It's a side of Jackie I hadn't heard as much (if ever?) - more 'inside', and it's all standards, but still some very tasty stuff, kinda like the way Joe Henderson treats standards - and above all, it really speaks with Jackie's voice. I wanted to tell others not to overlook this gem, especially if you see it as a bargain somewhere. Glad you like it, Rooster. Now I'll have to go out and buy it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrugs Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 Does anyone know why he doesn't choose to play the Hartford area? I know this is frustrating for folks that have lived here for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 Does anyone know what he's been up to lately? Does he perform anymore? I saw him at the Iridium in May. He was great. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 Guy, Do you happen to know what tunes they played? Thanks, Bertrand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 Does anyone know why he doesn't choose to play the Hartford area? I know this is frustrating for folks that have lived here for a while. The money is not the same as in NYC, I'd think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 (edited) Still, you'd think Jackie could play for the 'hometown' crowd once or twice a year, even if the money wasn't as good as in New York City. Reminds me of somebody else... Kevin Mahogany was way beyond being just a 'local musician' on the Kansas City scene, shortly after I moved here in mid 1994, although he hadn’t quite broken with the kind of huge success he would soon achieve in the mid-to-late 90’s. But, I remember having chances to hear him sing, maybe twice a year, from 1994 through at least 1998. Usually one of the jazz festivals would pick him up, every other year it seemed (there were two or three major jazz festivals in Kansas City back then, and then the University of Kansas has an annual festival that he was at one year, barely an hour from Kansas City). And then he'd get booked into one of the better jazz concert series, perhaps once every other year. And then, he'd probably do one 'club date' per year, locally. All that added up to nearly twice a year (or at least once every 9 months, roughly) that Mahogany played in his hometown, even though he was clearly a 'national' and 'international' artist, capable of netting gig money beyond what he could pull at home. All that says to me that Jackie could play at home at least once per year, without compromising his salary requirements too terribly much. Or am I being unreasonable?? Mahogony and his lovely wife (who is an incredible jazz photographer, I might add), have since moved away from Kansas City, so he doesn't play here nearly as much any more (in fact, I can't remember him being here anytime in the last 3 or 4 years). Then again, all three of our jazz festivals (except K.U.'s) have dried up and gone away too, one by one. Edited July 18, 2003 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 Rooster, relax, it's just something i said... doesn't mean it's true. B) Has anyone here gotten a carpal tunnell yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 I went through a tunnell in a carpool once. Never again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny weir Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 Has anyone here gotten a carpal tunnell yet? Doesn't that query belong on the spider thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relyles Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 (edited) It's not like he has chop problems - he played superbly at the Andrew Hill/Jackie McLean/Bobby Hutcherson/Billy Higgins show in NYC in June 2000. Was this recorded? I don't know, but I sure wish it was. I was present and it was a historic concert. I have been keeping my eyes open for a copy in the underground concert trading circles but have never seen it. Would also be nice to hear the opening act - if I remember correctly it was Jason Moran. I am bad with time these days, but I have seen McLean in the Hartford area in the past two years. He performed one of the opening concerts of the jazz series at the newest addition to Bushnell Hall in Hartford with his sextet, including son Rene, who I think came into the country specifically for the performance. Great show and Jackie played with the usual vigor. I also remember that the pianist that night was Marc Cary and he almost stole the show. Edited July 18, 2003 by relyles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 By the way, I picked up Jackie's "Nature Boy" from the late 90's - in a trade from Conn500 a few months back, and I really love this disc. It's a side of Jackie I hadn't heard as much (if ever?) - more 'inside', and it's all standards, but still some very tasty stuff, kinda like the way Joe Henderson treats standards - and above all, it really speaks with Jackie's voice. I wanted to tell others not to overlook this gem, especially if you see it as a bargain somewhere. This obviously got very bad distribution. I had a hard time locating a copy. But it really was worth the search. Rooster Ties summed it: a gem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 By the way, I picked up Jackie's "Nature Boy" from the late 90's - in a trade from Conn500 a few months back, and I really love this disc. It's a side of Jackie I hadn't heard as much (if ever?) - more 'inside', and it's all standards, but still some very tasty stuff, kinda like the way Joe Henderson treats standards - and above all, it really speaks with Jackie's voice. I wanted to tell others not to overlook this gem, especially if you see it as a bargain somewhere. This obviously got very bad distribution. I had a hard time locating a copy. But it really was worth the search. Rooster Ties summed it: a gem. I see it at the used record stores practically all the time. That good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 I see it at the used record stores practically all the time. That good? Distribution obviously worked only on one side of the Atlantic. Get it. It's great McLean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 It's amazing to me that a player of his stature has trouble getting a record deal. Would it really be so difficult for him to get a deal with a smaller (maybe european) label ? He recorded for Triloka in the early 90's, and those albums were also distributed in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 (edited) All this is RE: Rooster Ties summed it: a gem. I see it at the used record stores practically all the time. That good? I'm not saying it's a 5-star record, but it's probably a 4-star record, or at least 3 & 1/2 stars. Frankly, I hadn't even given it a second thought when I first saw it in the stores, prior to it being offered to me in a trade. I'm not sure how I can characterize this, without going overboard. It's a much deeper album than it could have easily been. It's not just a bunch of guys doing a bunch of standards, without any thought or care about the music. (Not that I thought that Jackie, Cedar, and the others were gonna just phone it in.) But, I think they dug deeper than certainly I was expecting, on what I would have normally dismissed as being a fairly (sorry) boring program. I mean, come on, "Nightingale"?? - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"?? - not exactly titles that motivate me to buy something, that's for sure... 1. You Don't Know What Love Is (DePaul/Raye) - 7:47 2. Nature Boy (Ahbez) - 9:30 3. I Can't Get Started (Duke/Gershwin) - 7:57 4. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Porter) - 6:31 5. I Fall in Love Too Easily (Cahn/Styne) - 5:09 6. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Harbach/Kern) - 5:51 7. Star Eyes (DePaul/Raye) - 5:31 8. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Maschwitz/Sherwin) - 8:27 Jackie McLean - Alto Cedar Walton - Piano David Williams - Bass Billy Higgins - Drums If you see "Nature Boy" used, by all means get it. Just don't expect quite the same old Jackie. He's much more "inside" than usual (and I almost never (ever!) sing the praises of really 'straight-ahead' dates recorded within the last 10 or even 20 years.) This one, however, is strangely different. Edited July 18, 2003 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkertown Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 Thanks for the reply relyles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrugs Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 It's not like he has chop problems - he played superbly at the Andrew Hill/Jackie McLean/Bobby Hutcherson/Billy Higgins show in NYC in June 2000. Was this recorded? I am bad with time these days, but I have seen McLean in the Hartford area in the past two years. He performed one of the opening concerts of the jazz series at the newest addition to Bushnell Hall in Hartford with his sextet, including son Rene, who I think came into the country specifically for the performance. Great show and Jackie played with the usual vigor. I also remember that the pianist that night was Marc Cary and he almost stole the show. That's what I thought. Twice since I moved here in 10/00. Not very often. I know of a few jazz fans in the area who find this confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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