He is a giant. In Hartford, McClean and his wife created the Artist Collective, which trained thousands of children, including many of my friends in the Arts...
I love Jackie - to me he's "the sound of jazz" - that edge and that fire. Jackie would have made a great boxer, too - he's got the timing, the heart and that take no prisoners attitude - his jazz is sophisticated yet it's totally out of the blues and streetwise. I saw him perform in 1965 in Boston and he was totally stoned out of his mind, eyes half open, but he played incredible - he never lost his fire, even at the end of his life. When he cleaned up his act and went into "higher" education I was blown away - I thought he was heading towards being another drug casualty, but he pulled it together and became an inspiration to his students. Love his playing, and I love the man. His recorded legacy is pure gold - timeless.
Met him in Perugia Jazz in the early 80s while serving in the US Navy in Naples. Cool cat who appreciated our service and shared some thoughts on the festival, actually went to see Dizzy, but ended up seeing n learning more about art. Such a wonderful human being. Now In my 60s, I do my share to share jazz n our heros. I am a lucky man, saw so many greats throughout Europe m Asia including my man Miles amongst others. God has blessed n I try to pay it forward.
The king of hardbop with punching tracks like climax, consequences, Jackknife. The king of cool with toyland, on the nile, slumber and many more. This is real jazz.
I am pleased that he shows a picture of him self and my dear old friend Dexter Gordon. They played wonderful together and fortunately they also recorded together.
I grew up listening to and loving the music of Jackie McLean, but I never knew, till now, what a magnetic personality he was. The man fairly beamed with charisma and eloquence.
This is a documentary of one of my favorites jazz musicians. You need to know hun. I would drive 40 miles in pouring rain to listen to great jazz musicians.
Love this musician, and love that he spoke so highly of Sun Ra. Sun Ra doesn't get enough credit for how much he advanced music, and he did it like no one else.
I knew a guy, Bobby Cummings, who played with Sun Ra, and I went to one of their early wild ongoing sessions somewhere in the Village back in the 60s. It was a true trip!
The story about the Parisian traffic cop holding traffic so Bud Powell could cross the street made me cry. This would NEVER have happened in the United States...NEVER.
I went to the Hartt School in 1989 to study jazz. Jackie McLean liked my audition and I made it in. I left for personal reasons (and got a doctorate in history instead -- long story). It had nothing to do with the faculty. Nat Reeves was my ensemble teacher and was one of the kindest and most understanding men I've ever met. Rick Rozzie was excellent too. While my time there was brief, I'm proud to have studied at Hartt under these guys.
In addition to being an excellent look at Jackie McLean personally, I also really like that this documentary sort of shows both sides of the jazz world at this time, since Jackie McLean was at the center of them both. By that, I mean how in this period in the 70s the established jazz scene, sort of informal and centered around clubs, was still solidly around, but the more formal and academic jazz scene was starting to form in places like Hartford. Jackie McLean was actively gigging, but was also actively teaching, so he was involved in both sides of it. I feel like the academic scene has become more prevalent in more recent years, and it's very easy to see that as a bad thing, that jazz music has become academic and become disconnected from its roots. But when you look at the perspective of someone from this time period like J-Mac, you can see that tying jazz with academia was sort of a survival strategy for jazz musicians - when the options are to either play and teach music you feel good about in an academic setting or to play independently, but be forced to play music you have no passion for to get by economically, it's easy to see why so many jazz musicians turned to academia. At this time, that was their way of perpetuating the existence of jazz music. And on a positive note, I think it worked. I think the situation in recent years has gotten better in some ways, and I think we've seen a resurgence in jazz music that doesn't come from academia - but I think that resurgence is possible because jazz was kept alive when there was no attention on it, and academia was part of why it stayed alive.
This documentary ranks with the one that Gil Noble did on Jackie McLean. It is as much a reflection of McLean's life and triumphs as a musician as it is a barometer of the time in which it was made. The late 1970s and early 1980s was a time when many said jazz was a dying art form. Thanks to Jackie McLean and others that never happened.
KSmall109CAB its Never gonna be like before..not in your lifetime....maybe not dead ( it will always have it's loyal following) but I was around in the late 50s / early 60s ..and even then it was dying !!! yes I was there !!! now it's a a university class...all the cats sound the same....
The fact that you have jazz being taught in colleges and universities is in many ways as sign of progress. It is a recognition that this is an art form worth study. Jazz began in brothels and speakeasies. Thanks to Duke Ellington and others, jazz eventually gained acceptance in places of worship. Jazz will continue to evolve in the 21st century. Colleges, universities, conservatories, and community centers have replaced clubs, bars, cutting sessions, and brothels.
Yes, we ow him a lot. He was not only a great altoplayer, but a fighter for this music and for the whole community of afro american music. We really could need such a great personality to day, where all has become so commercialized and tame.
We ow him a lot. Not only he was a great altoplayer and musician, je was also a figter for afro- american music and he never hesitated to fight for his ideas. A great personallity that we sure could need to day, wher all has been so comercialized and tame.
The truth speaks for itself through we the artists. Jackie was a close friend and brother to me. Importantly, his complimentary reference to Sun Ra brought tears to my eyes. What a great documentary for those who hear, listen and seek the truth. There are those outside the black experience who discount what we as Afrikan / Native American men have gone through to date. Through planned / plotted racism set towards us we creatively channeled that energy which became the power behind our music (Jazz) which no one can take away. There was only one "J Mc". Michael D. Anderson (Sun Ra Arkestra member) Executive Director of The Sun Ra Music Archive
I love how in one scene, he’s seen joyfully conducting a group of children as they count, directing each number as if it were a note in a composition. And in another, he gets into a heated discussion with college students on how to work within the commercial music industry, the importance of preserving jazz as American classical music, and the genius of Sun Ra.
Don't understand the comments on here about Jackie saying "crazy" things. Everything he said he was true. Thanks for uploading this. Jackie is my saxophone god, more than any of the others. Any shred I can see or hear or read about him I devour.
Hard to believe Jackie is gone....here we get him talking about things that are finally being discussed in the society allthough there is still much resistance from the system. Jackie McLean was saying these things 40 years ago...he lived it .
Excelente excursión por April in Paris ... Jackie Mclean es el mejor ejemplo para demostrar que lo más importante es tener un sonido propio. Oyes un par de notas al alto y ya sabes que es él.
Nice documentary. Interesting how he pent 6 months learning Ginat Steps but never recorded it. He also never recorded a composition by Sun Ra. I love his playing. Sometimes it was shrill and sharp but he has a lot of passion in his playing and ideas. I like the album One Step Beyond. He also has some nice records in 90s with his son on tenor Rene McLean.
Thank you so much for posting this. One of my favorites, someone I've always admired for his devotion to his academic work, which, it sounds like, came with a price. But so many benefited from who he was. Really exceptional. Merci!
i 'd like to thank you for making it possible for me to view and listen to this;i'd not previously given myself the time that was required to focus on the music and playing by mr Mclean.i'm now very much in the place required
Can anyone identify the tune they’re playing at the Five Spot starting at 20:11? And are there any recordings of Jackie playing with this band or a similar group, with the Rhodes and electric bass and guitar? I’d love to hear more.
Been loving Jackie since 1960 when I was a senior in H.S. For me he's the greatest.❤❤❤
GREAT ALTOPLAYER & GREAT 🎼🎵🎶EDUCATOR 🎷
Not only one of the greatest altoplayer, but also an educater and a burning soul for the music he represent.
He is a giant. In Hartford, McClean and his wife created the Artist Collective, which trained thousands of children, including many of my friends in the Arts...
Love Jackie McLean.Such a great man.
I love Jackie - to me he's "the sound of jazz" - that edge and that fire. Jackie would have made a great boxer, too - he's got the timing, the heart and that take no prisoners attitude - his jazz is sophisticated yet it's totally out of the blues and streetwise. I saw him perform in 1965 in Boston and he was totally stoned out of his mind, eyes half open, but he played incredible - he never lost his fire, even at the end of his life. When he cleaned up his act and went into "higher" education I was blown away - I thought he was heading towards being another drug casualty, but he pulled it together and became an inspiration to his students. Love his playing, and I love the man. His recorded legacy is pure gold - timeless.
Met him in Perugia Jazz in the early 80s while serving in the US Navy in Naples. Cool cat who appreciated our service and shared some thoughts on the festival, actually went to see Dizzy, but ended up seeing n learning more about art. Such a wonderful human being. Now In my 60s, I do my share to share jazz n our heros. I am a lucky man, saw so many greats throughout Europe m Asia including my man Miles amongst others. God has blessed n I try to pay it forward.
True warrior of the art, slaying dragons to keep the musical truth from being snuffed out... such a hip cat...
The king of hardbop with punching tracks like climax, consequences, Jackknife. The king of cool with toyland, on the nile, slumber and many more. This is real jazz.
I am pleased that he shows a picture of him self and my dear old friend Dexter Gordon. They played wonderful together and fortunately they also recorded together.
I grew up listening to and loving the music of Jackie McLean, but I never knew, till now, what a magnetic personality he was. The man fairly beamed with charisma and eloquence.
This is a documentary of one of my favorites jazz musicians. You need to know hun. I would drive 40 miles in pouring rain to listen to great jazz musicians.
His solo in the Connection clip is so great. Probably some of the best Jackie Mclean, I've ever heard.
Love this musician, and love that he spoke so highly of Sun Ra. Sun Ra doesn't get enough credit for how much he advanced music, and he did it like no one else.
I knew a guy, Bobby Cummings, who played with Sun Ra, and I went to one of their early wild ongoing sessions somewhere in the Village back in the 60s. It was a true trip!
I didn't dig Sun Ra and didn't understand why John Gilmore went with him. He was one of the best tenors ever. Guess I'm just to much into main stream.
@@thomasarneson4511 Sun Ra was an OG who played inside and outside equally well and had a songbook the size of a telephone book.
Space is the Place
Listen to the supersonic jazz LP sometim @@thomasarneson4511
I love him for telling that he admires Lou too.
EXCELLENT Documentary!!! Mr. McLean is SO underrated!!!!
I'd only really heard about him thru discussing alto on another YT channel in the comment section.
The story about the Parisian traffic cop holding traffic so Bud Powell could cross the street made me cry. This would NEVER have happened in the United States...NEVER.
The americans don't know their own Artists. Thas why so many of them went to Europe to become famous.
American's aren't idiots. That story was ridiculous.
@@perceptionmanagement2116 Americans are a bunch of ignorant trailer trash. They think Elvis is high culture.
What a blessing Jackie was. I have such a high regard for his work.
Nobody can play a better blues than Jackie!
Maybe Yusef Lateef.
@@thomasarneson4511 Think again!
@@thomasarneson4511 Love Yusef!
Bluesnik is a stone cold classic album.
I went to the Hartt School in 1989 to study jazz. Jackie McLean liked my audition and I made it in. I left for personal reasons (and got a doctorate in history instead -- long story). It had nothing to do with the faculty. Nat Reeves was my ensemble teacher and was one of the kindest and most understanding men I've ever met. Rick Rozzie was excellent too. While my time there was brief, I'm proud to have studied at Hartt under these guys.
nice man
"Tryin to explain the why of everything", yeah, so Jackie was here and he played and I listened and I'm thankful and that's enough.
Wow,what a profound individual Jackie Mclean was.Everybody should see this video.A true American hero!
In addition to being an excellent look at Jackie McLean personally, I also really like that this documentary sort of shows both sides of the jazz world at this time, since Jackie McLean was at the center of them both. By that, I mean how in this period in the 70s the established jazz scene, sort of informal and centered around clubs, was still solidly around, but the more formal and academic jazz scene was starting to form in places like Hartford. Jackie McLean was actively gigging, but was also actively teaching, so he was involved in both sides of it.
I feel like the academic scene has become more prevalent in more recent years, and it's very easy to see that as a bad thing, that jazz music has become academic and become disconnected from its roots. But when you look at the perspective of someone from this time period like J-Mac, you can see that tying jazz with academia was sort of a survival strategy for jazz musicians - when the options are to either play and teach music you feel good about in an academic setting or to play independently, but be forced to play music you have no passion for to get by economically, it's easy to see why so many jazz musicians turned to academia. At this time, that was their way of perpetuating the existence of jazz music.
And on a positive note, I think it worked. I think the situation in recent years has gotten better in some ways, and I think we've seen a resurgence in jazz music that doesn't come from academia - but I think that resurgence is possible because jazz was kept alive when there was no attention on it, and academia was part of why it stayed alive.
What a beautiful brilliant cat. Master musician and teacher. Thinker, influencer. Mensch.
This documentary ranks with the one that Gil Noble did on Jackie McLean. It is as much a reflection of McLean's life and triumphs as a musician as it is a barometer of the time in which it was made. The late 1970s and early 1980s was a time when many said jazz was a dying art form. Thanks to Jackie McLean and others that never happened.
KSmall109CAB its Never gonna be like before..not in your lifetime....maybe not dead ( it will always have it's loyal following) but I was around in the late 50s / early 60s ..and even then it was dying !!! yes I was there !!! now it's a a university class...all the cats sound the same....
Well put.
The fact that you have jazz being taught in colleges and universities is in many ways as sign of progress. It is a recognition that this is an art form worth study.
Jazz began in brothels and speakeasies. Thanks to Duke Ellington and others, jazz eventually gained acceptance in places of worship.
Jazz will continue to evolve in the 21st century. Colleges, universities, conservatories, and community centers have replaced clubs, bars, cutting sessions, and brothels.
Yes, we ow him a lot. He was not only a great altoplayer, but a fighter for this music and for the whole community of afro american music. We really could need such a great personality to day, where all has become so commercialized and tame.
We ow him a lot. Not only he was a great altoplayer and musician, je was also a figter for afro- american music and he never hesitated to fight for his ideas. A great personallity that we sure could need to day, wher all has been so comercialized and tame.
jackies playing on the classic mingus album blues and roots just blows me away so soild and strong and allso he plays so good on his album lights out
First time I heard Jackie Maclean was in the " Connection " and I was hooked. He simply changed my way of playing.
still love his music!!
The truth speaks for itself through we the artists. Jackie was a close friend and brother to me. Importantly, his complimentary reference to Sun Ra brought tears to my eyes. What a great documentary for those who hear, listen and seek the truth. There are those outside the black experience who discount what we as Afrikan / Native American men have gone through to date. Through planned / plotted racism set towards us we creatively channeled that energy which became the power behind our music (Jazz) which no one can take away.
There was only one "J Mc".
Michael D. Anderson (Sun Ra Arkestra member)
Executive Director of The Sun Ra Music Archive
SUN RA MUSIC CHANNEL (OFFICIAL) yes a very unique artist
I love your channel man.
This is Great!
Thank you for your WOrk
Righteous words, brother. Thank you.
I love how in one scene, he’s seen joyfully conducting a group of children as they count, directing each number as if it were a note in a composition. And in another, he gets into a heated discussion with college students on how to work within the commercial music industry, the importance of preserving jazz as American classical music, and the genius of Sun Ra.
Thank you for sharing! I'm digging into the greats more each day and this was such a wonderful thing to come across.
Beauty...Thank you for the excellent vibrations...Jackie McLean ....yes....
Brilliant! Those arpeggios he's blowing are incredible! What a great artist Jackie Mac was!
Don't understand the comments on here about Jackie saying "crazy" things. Everything he said he was true. Thanks for uploading this. Jackie is my saxophone god, more than any of the others. Any shred I can see or hear or read about him I devour.
What an incredible human being - a true jazz genius !! Fantastic composer/virtuosic sax player.
Five 'likes' from me. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Hard to believe Jackie is gone....here we get him talking about things that are finally being discussed in the society allthough there is still much resistance from the system. Jackie McLean was saying these things 40 years ago...he lived it .
This is awesome. Jackie covers a lot of ground about how the government influences how the general public thinks and enjoys
12:48 Powerful story
Excelente excursión por April in Paris ... Jackie Mclean es el mejor ejemplo para demostrar que lo más importante es tener un sonido propio. Oyes un par de notas al alto y ya sabes que es él.
My alto saxophone reference sound!! Jackie McLean's my guardian angel!!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Jackie, his family and his contributions to the community and the university will forever have a major impact on me. He touched my soul.
Mr. McLean's album A Long Drink of the Blues frequently ends up in my CD player.
To Mr Jackie Mclean , his wife and those responsible for this n more...
Thank you and God bless you
🙏🏻🌟🔥🌟🙏🏾
I agree with DC Young. Next to Trane, Jackie is the my favorite sax man. A powerful documentary!
My man Jackie McLean, my favorite alto player. This is great.
Nice documentary. Interesting how he pent 6 months learning Ginat Steps but never recorded it. He also never recorded a composition by Sun Ra.
I love his playing. Sometimes it was shrill and sharp but he has a lot of passion in his playing and ideas. I like the album One Step Beyond.
He also has some nice records in 90s with his son on tenor Rene McLean.
long live King Jackie.
WOW!! I haven't seen this in over 30 years!! Thank you so much!!!
Thank you so much for posting this. One of my favorites, someone I've always admired for his devotion to his academic work, which, it sounds like, came with a price. But so many benefited from who he was. Really exceptional. Merci!
👏🏿👏🏿
i 'd like to thank you for making it possible for me to view and listen to this;i'd not previously given myself the time that was required to focus on the music and playing by mr Mclean.i'm now very much in the place required
Remarkable Genius, and Humanitarian
Extremely lucid. Thank you for the post
APRIL IN PARIS! YEAH!!!
14:00 explained in Godfather 1. "We'll keep it in the dark communities. Let them lose their souls, they're animals anyway".
right, another great day serving justice on the internet...
Excellent!
I love this! And seeing faces like Jaki Byard's and Woody Shaw's makes me smile. Thanks for this upload.
Genius. Underrated.
That was incredible. Thank you for posting.
A great documentary on most important issues, concerning music!
he's a cool brother... I had no idea!!
very unique guy Jackie as well his friends,Parker,Gordon,Rollins most of all jazz musicians of the 50's.
jackie mac. the real thing. grew up with the best, and became one of the best. thank you so much for the upload. never seen this. great!
GREAT ARTIST !!
Lightening my Day. I love Jacky Mac lean but I didn’t know he was great at this dimension .🙏
Thanks for sharing!
Lov Jackie McLean!
My boy - so loveable he is.
Swing swang swinging. Epic. Ty JM.
thanks so much for posting this!! great documentary of a music legend.
9 is supposed to be everything, vortex math, perpetual motion, love.
WOW next level dude
Many thanks for sharing.
I’m friends w Dollie! This guy was like no other
Amazing! Thank you so much for posting.
Love!
Fucking brilliant
just amazing...
Thank you for posting this!!! I have it on VHS and hope it makes it to DVD.
amazing.
THNX!!
Magnifique merci !
Wow I Love this Guy
😃🌷💙🌱
28:42, says it all...
❤️❤️❤️
Prof Jackie!
There's a clip of Jackie playing "What's New" with Woody Shaw at 9:46. Does anyone know if there is more video from that performance?
Right? I wish I could find that!
apointment in ghana....
Anybody know the Sonny Rollins album being discussed @5:04?
Great Artist
Can anyone identify the tune they’re playing at the Five Spot starting at 20:11? And are there any recordings of Jackie playing with this band or a similar group, with the Rhodes and electric bass and guitar? I’d love to hear more.
A critical thinker and most are cowards that play this music that don't standup and speak out!
Love that passionate discussion about "The System".
Alto sax rules
25:30 McLean on Sun Ra
Could anyone tell me the name of the piece used behind the photo montage at the beginning of the documentary. What a blazing solo from Jackie.
JAKI BYARD! 5:42