Bluesnik

Bluesnik

ASIN: B000005HC6

Editorial Reviews
From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean appreciates how blues is the bone marrow of jazz. On a blues date in 1961 he exhibits creative spontaneity and wisdom beyond the ken of most twenty-eight-year-old improvisers. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, six years younger, is a rhythmic turbine of down-home inflections. Two alternate takes have been added for the CD. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Tracks:

Bluesnik
Goin' Way Blues
Goin' Way Blues (Alternate Take)
Drew's Blues
Cool Green
Blues Function
Torchin'
Torchin' (Alternate Take)

Customer Reviews:

Pushing the blues.......2002-09-26

What comes to mind when listening to the music here, is that it is the opposite of the way Hank Mobely and his group played on Soul Station.
Mclean and his group are playing a whole album based on the 12 bar (or 16 bar) blues form, but they approach the blues from a whole different place. There is no softness or gentleness here. The blues is attacked with full force by all participents. Even the second track, which is at a slow tempo, is played double and triple time by Mclean and Hubbard.
I feel that for the overall sound of the CD, some balance is missing, some relaxed, layed back moments that would ease the tension. This is why I would not recommend as a blues album, but as a hard edged hard bop album based on the blues form.

Pushing the blues.......2002-09-26

What comes to my mind when listening to the great music here, is that it is an approach to the blues far different than the way Hank Mobely and his group approached it on Soul Station.
Mclean and his group are playing a whole album based on the 12 bar (or 16 bar) blues form, but they approach the blues from a whole different place. There is very little softness or gentleness here. The blues is attacked with full force by all participents, and the emotions projected are uncompromisingly rough.
Even the second track, which is at a slow tempo, is played double and triple time by Mclean and Hubbard.
I feel that the overall sound of the CD is very unique, and there are no relaxed, layed back moments that would ease the tension, as one might expect. This is why I would not recommend it as a blues album, but as a hard edged hard bop album based on the blues form.

In a blues bag.......2002-03-22

A 1961 album in which McLean explores the intersection of hard bop & the blues. If it was all as good as McLean's opening solo on the title track this album would be a masterpiece--this is a really remarkable solo that is strikingly poised & elegant & yet has the bite & hungriness that McLean's music always possesses. It points the way to the extended solos on McLean's great album _Let Freedom Ring!_. But the rest of the album is merely very good, & while Freddie Hubbard & Kenny Drew are good players they don't really play on the same level as the leader. A very good rhythm section--Doug Watkins & Pete La Roca--keeps everything on a nice boil. One curiosity: you can hear Hubbard quote Oliver Nelson's "Cascades" in his solo on "Bluesnik". This album was recorded 6 weeks before _Blues and the Abstract Truth_, on which Hubbard was to participate; so I infer that Hubbard must have recently attended a rehearsal for Nelson's album or been given the sheet music to work on before he stepped into the studio for McLean's album. Appropriately enough, both albums are concerned with the examination of blues structures via modern jazz styles.

Jackie McLean's "Bluesnik" = Classic Blue Note Gem.......2001-06-13

Jackie McLean's "Bluesnik" is one of his best straight ahead bop sessions that he recorded for the Blue Note label. A few years after this session was made, Jackie ventured into a realm on the fine line between bebop and the avant-garde/free jazz of the 60s with albums like "Let Freedom Ring", "Destination Out" and "One Step Beyond". This album, however, was around the peak of Jackie's explorations that were solidly within the bop framework.

If you like Jackie McLean, classic Blue Note hardbop, or just innovative improvisational music by musicians who play with fiery passion restrained by the strength of their intellect - then this is the album for you.

"Bluesnik" features 6 songs that all have a "bluesy" mood even though they are not all technically blues in terms of their structure and harmonics.

Jackie McLean is his typical inspired self (did the man ever turn in an subpar effort?) and his solos show a penchant for the blues and convey a very deep visceral and emotional impact. The album features a supporting cast of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums.

I disagree with the other reviewer who stated that Freddie Hubbard doesn't really perform well on this session. While Freddie Hubbard certainly turned in more inspired performances elsewhere - that is certainly not a negative reflection of his playing here. Rather, it is a reflection of his legendary performances as a sideman on such albums as "Speak No Evil", "Blues and the Abstract Truth", and "Maiden Voyage".

There is nothing particularly progressive about this music for its time - it is just high quality straight ahead jazz that will both mesmerize you on your first listen and adquately reward repeated listenings.

One word of caution, Jackie McLean is known for his sharp intonation on the alto sax. In my opinion, this is an integral part of his style which helps account for the uniqueness of his sound on the alto and for the emotive impact of his playing. However, for some listeners Jackie's intonation can be a distraction from the music. "Bluesnik" does feature some of the sharpest intonation in Jackie's discography.

If you are the type of person who insists on listening to soloists who play the saxophone with textbook intonation then you may get annoyed with Jackie's playing on "Bluesnik". However, if you are open to sounds that are not "technically" perfect but nonetheless perfectly fit the musical purposes of the artist employing them, then give "Bluesnik" a try. You won't be disappointed.

A document of transition.......1998-10-23

No one can play alto without standing in Bird's shadow, but McLean came tantalizingly close--briefly--in the early 60's. This album, while on the surface 6 congenial blues, reveals real, potent depths on repeated listens. McLean's solos, especially on the title track, are an uneasy reconciliation between bebop and "out". They're always threatening to explode out of their harmonic boundaries. Which makes the music always exciting, sometimes breathtaking. I would have liked to hear more of McLean and less of Hubbard, who's a little too brassy for this, but I'll take what I can get. Buy this before it goes back out of print.

Average customer rating:

Bluesnik
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005GKAG
Release Date: 1993-10-27

Tracks:

Bluesnik
Goin' 'Way Blues
Drew's Blues
Cool Green
Blues Function
Torchin'

Average customer rating:

Bluesnik
Jackie McLean
Manufacturer: Blue Note Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Blue Note Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004YNVW
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Tracks:

Bluesnik
Goin' Way Blues
Goin' Way Blues [Alternate Take]
Drew's Blues
Cool Green
Blues Function
Torchin'
Torchin' [Alternate Take]

Album Description

Japanese limited edition Verve label jazz reissue featuring 24 bit remastering & the original artwork reproduced as a miniature LP sleeve. Originally released in 1961. 2000 release.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Limited LP Style Cover for Initias Pressing. 24bit Digitally Remastered.

Average customer rating:

Bluesnik

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000BDJ5UW
Release Date: 2005-11-29

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music