McLean was born in
Harlem,
New York City. After his father's death in 1939, Jackie's musical education was continued by his godfather, his record-store-owning stepfather, and several noted teachers. He also received informal tutoring from neighbors
Thelonious Monk,
Bud Powell, and
Charlie Parker. During high school McLean played in a band with
Kenny Drew,
Sonny Rollins, and Andy Kirk, Jr. (the saxophonist son of
Andy Kirk). Along with Rollins, McLean played on
Miles Davis'
Dig album when he was 20 years old. As a young man he also recorded with
Gene Ammons,
Charles Mingus (for
Pithecanthropus Erectus),
George Wallington, and as a member of
Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers. McLean joined Blakey after reportedly being punched by Mingus. Fearing for his life, McLean pulled out a knife and contemplated using it against Mingus in self-defense, but later stated he was grateful that he had not stabbed the bassist. McLean's early recordings as leader were in the
hard bop school. He later became an exponent of
modal jazz without abandoning his foundation in hard bop. Throughout his career he was known for a distinctive tone, akin to the tenor saxophone and often described with such adjectives as "bittersweet", "piercing", or "searing", a slightly sharp
pitch, and a strong foundation in the
blues. McLean was a heroin addict throughout his early career, and the resulting loss of his New York City
cabaret card forced him to undertake a large number of recording dates to earn income in the absence of nightclub performance opportunities. Consequently, he produced an extensive body of recorded work in the 1950s and 1960s. He was under contract with
Blue Note Records from 1959 to 1967, having previously recorded for
Prestige. Blue Note offered better pay and more artistic control than other labels, and his work for this organization is highly regarded and includes leadership and sideman dates with a wide range of musicians, including
Donald Byrd,
Sonny Clark,
Lee Morgan,
Ornette Coleman,
Dexter Gordon,
Freddie Redd,
Billy Higgins,
Freddie Hubbard,
Grachan Moncur III,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Mal Waldron,
Tina Brooks and many others. In 1962, he recorded
Let Freedom Ring for Blue Note. This album was the culmination of attempts he had made over the years to deal with harmonic problems in jazz, incorporating ideas from the
free jazz developments of
Ornette Coleman and the "new breed" which inspired his blending of hard bop with the "new thing": "the search is on, Let Freedom Ring".
Let Freedom Ring began a period in which he performed with
avant-garde jazz musicians rather than the veteran
hard bop performers he had been playing with previously. His adaptation of
modal jazz and free jazz innovations to his vision of hard bop made his recordings from 1962 on distinctive. McLean recorded with dozens of musicians and had a gift for spotting talent. Saxophonist
Tina Brooks, trumpeter
Charles Tolliver, pianist
Larry Willis, trumpeter
Bill Hardman, and tubist
Ray Draper were among those who benefited from McLean's support in the 1950s and 1960s. Drummers such as
Tony Williams,
Jack DeJohnette,
Lenny White,
Michael Carvin, and
Carl Allen gained important early experience with McLean. In 1967, his recording contract, like those of many other progressive musicians, was terminated by Blue Note's new management. His opportunities to record promised so little pay that he abandoned recording as a way to earn a living, concentrating instead on touring. In 1968, he began teaching at
The Hartt School of the
University of Hartford. He later set up the university's African American Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies program. His Steeplechase recording
New York Calling, made with his son
René McLean, showed that by 1980 the assimilation of all influences was complete. In 1970, he and his wife,
Dollie McLean, along with jazz bassist
Paul (PB) Brown, founded the
Artists Collective, Inc. of Hartford, an organization dedicated to preserving the art and culture of the
African Diaspora. It provides educational programs and instruction in dance, theatre, music and visual arts. The membership of McLean's later bands were drawn from his students in Hartford, including
Steve Davis and his son
René, who is a jazz saxophonist and flautist as well as a jazz educator. Also in McLean's Hartford group was
Mark Berman, the jazz pianist and broadway conductor of Smokey Joe's Cafe and Rent. In 1979 he reached No. 53 in the
UK Singles Chart with "Doctor Jackyll and Mister Funk". This track, released on
RCA as a 12" single, was an unusual sidestep for McLean to contribute towards the funk/disco revolution of the late 1970s. Many people, at the time, in the clubs where it was played confused the female singers on the track with his name thinking he was actually female. He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Arts in 2001 and numerous other national and international awards. McLean was the only American jazz musician to found a department of studies at a university and a community-based organization almost simultaneously. Each has existed for over three decades. McLean died on March 31, 2006, in
Hartford, Connecticut, after a long illness. In 2006 he was elected to the
DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame via the International Critics Poll. He is interred in
Woodlawn Cemetery,
The Bronx, New York City, with an image of him playing the saxophone, etched in black granite, high on a hill.
A. B. Spellman's 1966 study,
Black Music, Four Lives: Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Nichols, Jackie McLean, still in print, includes extensive mid-career reflections by McLean on his youth and career to date.
Derek Ansell's full-length biography of McLean,
Sugar Free Saxophone. details the story of his career and provides a full analysis of his music on record. ==Discography==