Jackie McLean – Bluesnik (XRCD24)

Jackie McLean was one of the first practitioners of hard bob, but this did not necessarily make his jazz albums more accessible. On this album, first released in 1962, he takes a completely different approach. All six of the original tracks are based on blues motifs, but McLean interprets them in a much faster and livelier way. So if you’re expecting laid-back blues, you’ll be surprised by Hard Bob’s influence.

In addition to leader Jackie McLean on alto sax, the quintet consists of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Kenny Drew on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Pete La Roca on drums.

This track is part of a series of XRCD24 reissues from the Blue Note catalogue and has been remastered from the analogue stereo tapes at Oceanway Studios in Hollywood by Alan Yoshida, one of the inventors of the XRCD process. The sound quality of the XRCDs, newly released under the Audio Wave label, goes far beyond previous digitisations and in some cases sounds considerably better than the original LPs. The XRCDs come with a lavishly designed booklet with excellent photography.

We recommend the use of „L’Art du Son” CD/DVD conditioner for even more sonic improvement.

Lista pieselor

1. Bluesnik

2. Goin’ Way Blues

3. Drew’s Blues

4. Cool Green

5. Blues Function

6. Torchin’

Bonus Tracks

7. Goin’ Way Blues (Alternate Take)

8. Torchin’ (Alternate Take)