Jackie McLean: Vertigo

This CD combines two Jackie McLean quintet sessions from the early '60s that capture the alto saxophonist in a significant period of transition. First up is a 1963 session with trumpeter Donald Byrd and two significant prot©g©s. Byrd had been working for a while with pianist Herbie Hancock, but it was the first recording session for drummer Tony Williams, just 17 years old when he began working with McLean. The arrival of Hancock and Williams was momentous. They were already stretching the vocabulary of hard bop, and the horns respond accordingly. It's McLean's presence that's dominant, though. His hard-edged intensity always stood out, and there's an increasing bite in this period, leading up to his embrace of a much freer group format. The second session, from 1962, is more securely in the bop mold. It's another first-rate band of Blue Note regulars, with the veteran trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Sonny Clark (like McLean, a master of blues-suffused bop), drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist Butch Warren. Over the years, these have been elusive recordings. Both appeared on LP (Vertigo and Hipnosis) years after they were recorded and in combination with other material. This is their first appearance on CD, and it's a limited edition, so McLean fans should act quickly. --Stuart Broomer