News & Updates — Jackie McLean
Clifford Jarvis / Aug 26, 1941 - Nov 26, 1999
Happy birthday to the boisterous Clifford Jarvis, stylish drummer of post-bop and free jazz who also worked well with other percussionists. He was from Boston and came from a family of trumpeters. He started playing drums at 10 and studied with Alan Dawson. Early professional experience with Chet Baker and Randy Weston set him up for some gigs with heavy hitters of the '60s & '70s. Operating out of NYC and Chicago, he played or recorded with a host of amazing musicians: Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Grant Green, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Big John Patton, Barry Harris, Yusef Lateef, Curtis Fuller, Elmo...
Jackie McLean / May 17, 1931 - March 31, 2006
Alto saxophonist, educator and activist Jackie McLean had a long career of quality hard-bop and post-bop jazz. He also played in modal settings and his alto sound could be as commanding as a tenor at times. His run on Prestige and Blue Note in the '50s and '60s is as classic as any of the hard bop era. He also made several appearances on albums by other Blue Note artists. From NYC, his father was a professional guitarist with Tiny Bradshaw but he passed away while Jackie was a child. He soaked up the bebop scene, hanging with Charlie Parker,...
Ornette Coleman / March 9, 1930 - June 11, 2015
Happy birthday to the harmolodic genius Ornette Coleman! His saxophone crying and unique compositional style were as groundbreaking on the avant-garde jazz front as John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor & Sunny Murray, Sun Ra and Albert Ayler were in that new freedom era that started in the late '50s and caused an avalanche of free-jazz in the '60s. In fact, it was Coleman's "double-quartet" album, Free Jazz -from '60, which gave name to a whole genre to follow. The musical revolutionary grew up poor in Fort Worth TX and learned to sight-read and started teaching himself alto sax at 14, right...