Jackie McLean: ‘Vertigo,’ 1959/1963

Held back by Blue Note until 1980, this gem has been given a bright remastering

The alto saxophone is probably the only instrument that can be placed on a sound scale ranging from sour to sweet. On this sliding scale, top jazz musicians who played the horn can be lodged at different points, depending on their tone. For example, Ornette Coleman and Cannonball Adderley land in the sour range while Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter would be deep in the sweet zone.

Jackie McLean’s attack has always rested largely in the mildly sour region, though it has shifted around at different points during his career. For example, on the 1951 recording of Dig with Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, McLean had a relatively smooth sound with a slight edge. Moving forward, he leaned into a lively sour tone on his albums in the late 1950s and ‘60s.

McLean’s Vertigo shows off this shard-like sound and his deft, bluesy technique. One of the six tracks on the LP was recorded in 1959 while the other five were captured in 1963. The music remained unreleased on vinyl until 1980 and didn’t turn up on CD until 2000. The late Michael Cuscuna, the re-issue producer at the time, discovered these tracks as he mined Blue Note’s archives. Why was the album held up? He offered an explanation:

“Like so many other sessions, it is impossible to ascertain why the date was not issued in its time. But it is clear that the answer probably lies in Vertigo and what it foreshadowed. If Jackie was in the studio two months later recording One Step Beyond, that certainly made this session obsolete on an immediate level, even if its value is timeless in the long range scheme of things.”

In other words, too much of a good thing. Marney, Dusty Foot, Vertigo, Cheers and Yams were recorded in February 1963 and featured Donald Byrd (tp), Jackie McLean (as), Herbie Hancock (p), Butch Warren (b) and Tony Williams (d).

Formidable was recorded in May 1959 and featured Byrd (tp), McLean (as), Walter Davis Jr. (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Pete La Roca (d).

Donald Byrd wrote Marney and Dusty Foot, and Formidable was by Davis Jr., followed by Vertigo and Cheers by McLean. The last song, Yams, was by Hancock.

Byrd and McLean loved recording together. They produced a marvelous textured contrast to Byrd’s warm, fluid trumpet and McLean’s anxious alto saxophone. They began recording together on Live! at the Cafe Bohemia: The George Wallington Quintet in 1955, followed by seven albums for Prestige between 1956 and ‘57.

What’s remarkable about Vertigo are the first five compositions, which are sophisticated and sound difficult to play perfectly. Yet McLean and Byrd pull them off with ease and grace. The final track on the LP, Yams, is a walking blues.

Vertigo has just been released on a gatefold LP by Blue Note as part of its Tone Poet series, cut directly from the album’s analog tapes, remastered by Kevin Gray and stamped on 180-gram vinyl. The sound is big and distinct, and McLean’s vinegary tone is rich.

You can buy Jackie McLean’s Vertigo by going here.

Jackie McLean died in 2006 at age 74 after a long illness.

Here’s Cheers…