Customer Reviews

Nature Boy

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You can hear the maturity in his playing. The technique is there, but it transcends technique. This guy has been around. I've always dug Jackie Mclean, and especially enjoy the very nuanced artistic changes he's made over time. I think he's lost some of the edginess (which was never a bad thing), but that great, distinctive, tart tone is still there. I'm tempted to give it five stars.

The title of this review was my reaction as I listened to this CD. To appreciate this album it may help to be unfamiliar with Mr. McLean's work. Perhaps I will grow to love it as much as I like every other Jackie McLean album except "4,5, and 6". However, this is still a better album than the great majority of jazz albums, which is why I gave it 4 stars. Mr. McLean plays unadventurously (which is, of course, highly uncharacteristic), but I did not get the feeling I often get when I listen to other players that he was just running scales. The other players are also excellent, which would be expected. I particularly liked Cedar Walton. This is a fine album even though it may leave long-time McLean fans dumbfounded for a while.

It's true that Jackie's tart tone doesn't seem ideally suited to ballads, and he's best known for fiery uptempo wailing, but hardcore Japanese fans enjoyed his ballad interpretations enough to encourage him to record this set. Although there are a few moments where he sounds unintentionally strained trying to hit the melody notes, he generally achieves a mature and satisfying bittersweetness. While not representative of his strength, this is a set his fans will enjoy. David Williams' takes several melodic, compelling solos, and Cedar Walton gets ample opportunity to display his highly-refined technique. The late Billy Higgins sparks the mellow groove as much as possible, particularly on "What is This Thing Called Love", where he really pushes the beat and gets in some potent drum fills.

Jackie McLean is a master...but as the amazon reviewer rightly said, he's at his best when he's blowing his guts out on hard-bop and things of that nature...when he really could play with some edge. And while he and the rest of the band are still good (Cedar Walton is a superb pianist) this setting really isn't the best for him, as it's mostly ballads. It's not bad, but it's not all that inspired either. A pretty typical selection of standards too. Jazz is often hit and miss, and unfortunately, this leans more toward the miss.

So many of the older jazz guys have died untimely deaths, so it's nice to see Jackie Mac still at it - especially after overcoming some personal demons of his own that could have handed him the same fate. What's even more satisfying is that he continues to grow artistically, yet never deviates from a program of playing vital and impossibly nuanced music. That inimitably tart tone has become something of an old reliable to me. Keep on swinging Jackie!