



Jackie McLean - Jacknife
Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean [click here to see more products featuring Jackie McLean]
Drums – Jack DeJohnette [click here to see more vinyl featuring Jack DeJohnette]
Trumpet – Charles Tolliver (A1, B1, B3) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Charles Tolliver]
Trumpet – Lee Morgan (A2 to B2) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Lee Morgan]
Bass – Larry Ridley
Piano – Larry Willis
Written by Charles Tolliver (A1, B2), Jack DeJohnette (A2), Lee Morgan (B1), Jackie McLean (B3)
1 LP, Gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Record Technology Incorporated
Label : Blue Note Tone Poet
Original Label : Blue Note
Recorded September 24, 1965 (#1–5) and April 18, 1966 (#6–10) at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder
Original session produced by Alfred Lion
Reissue produced by Joe Harley
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Originally Released in 1975
Reissued in 2025
Tracks :
Side A
- On The Nile
- Climax
Side B
- Soft Blue
- Jacknife
- Blue Fable
Reviews:
“Jackie McLean's Jacknife sessions have had a peculiar and somewhat disjointed history in his discography. Initially issued in 1975 on a vinyl two-fer as part of the Blue Note reissue series, it included separate, previously unreleased sessions from 1965 and 1966, the former with trumpeters Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver, the latter in a quartet with only McLean as the leading horn. This 1965 group has many worthwhile and often challenging moments for the then-33-year-old alto saxophonist.
Of the five tracks here, "On the Nile," at over 12-and-a-half minutes, should be a favorite, as its modern, mainstream modalism weaves Larry Willis' deep piano chords, Tolliver's evocative trumpet, and McLean's rich harmonizing. Tolliver also wrote the title track, a sour-toned bopper on the cutting edge, considering this mid-'60s time frame. McLean penned the tuneful, enjoyable "Blue Fable" on the steady swing side, briefly dishing out calypso beats. Morgan's feature is DeJohnette's "Climax" in a chopped-up piano riff with the drummer, as a bop line from the horns takes up the urgent, kinetic charge. The only track with both trumpeters, "Soft Blue," is easy as the title suggests, harmonic and warm, with solid solos showing the stark contrast between the approach of the two brassmen and Willis' ruminating piano.” AllMusic Review by Michael G. Nastos
Ratings:
AllMusic : 3.5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4. 46 / 5