Jackie McLean Consequence CD

Personnel: Jackie McLean (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Jackie McLean; Herbie Lewis (double bass); Lee Morgan (trumpet); Harold Mabern (piano); Billy Higgins (drums).
Liner Note Author: Larry Kart.
Recording information: New York, NY (12/03/1965); Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (12/03/1965).
On this 1965 session for Blue Note, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean leads a stellar ensemble that includes trumpeter Lee Morgan and drummer Billy Higgins. All of the musicians are in excellent form here, with McLean and Morgan offering up tightly woven melodic threads that carefully unfurl into outstanding solos. Higgins's commanding kit work, however, garners as much attention as the horns, with his frenetic playing providing both the music's heartbeat and its most thrillingly freewheeling moments (see the last half of the opener, "Bluesanova," for strong evidence of the latter). With the exception of "My Old Flame," all of the songs on CONSEQUENCE are McLean or Morgan originals, and the energetic performances of these inventive tunes make this a classic hard-bop date.
This 1965 session pairs Jackie McLean with Lee Morgan in the front line and features a rhythm section of pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Billy Higgins. Right -- a powerhouse band. Originally recorded in 1965, it wasn't released on LP until 1979, and then on CD as part of the Mosaic box set (The Complete Blue Note 1964-1966). This is its first release as a separate title on CD. The music here is much more straight-ahead than on other McLean dates from the 1960s. The presence of Morgan puts McLean in the position of having to be at his best, as on the stellar opening cut, "Bluesanova," which combines bossa, soul-jazz, and hard bop. Another tight moment on the set is McLean's "Tolypso," a sideways take on calypso that reaches over into hard bop. The interplay between the saxophonist and trumpet player is air-tight and rousing. Other cuts of note are Morgan's fine swinging ballad "Slumber" and the steaming title cut. This is a welcome addition to the McLean catalog on disc. ~ Thom JurekMojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] '65 hard bop masterpiece....Spontaneous, impassioned..."