1985 · Album
It's About Time
Recorded April 1985 · Blue Note · Produced by Not specified in provided sources
Five Players Finding Their Footing Together
A solid session that shows what happens when strong players meet without pretense or agenda.
It's About Time opens with air around the notes — McCoy Tyner's piano doesn't fill the room so much as suggest it, and Jackie McLean's alto sax enters like someone thinking out loud. There's space here, which matters. Jon Faddis on trumpet works alongside them without competing; Ron Carter and Al Foster lock into something steady but not rigid. The rhythm section breathes. The whole thing feels like a conversation between people who know each other's habits but aren't trying to finish each other's sentences.
This was Tyner and McLean's first release together on the re-established Blue Note label in 1985, recorded that April. By this point in their careers, both men had already made their statements elsewhere — this wasn't a debut or a culmination, just a working date with musicians they respected. The album doesn't break new ground, and AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow described it as reasonably enjoyable but less memorable than one might expect. That's fair. It's competent and occasionally engaging without reaching for anything larger than itself.
What makes it worth hearing is the straightforwardness of it all. Tyner and McLean don't grandstand. Faddis plays clean, precise lines. Carter and Foster keep the time without calling attention to themselves. Marcus Miller and Steve Thornton add texture without clutter. This is a record for people who like jazz the way you like a conversation with someone you trust — not pyrotechnics, just the real thing.
Who's playing
Ron Carterdouble bass
Marcus Millerelectric bass guitar
McCoy Tynerpiano
Jackie McLeanalto saxophone
Jon Faddistrumpet
Al Fosterdrums
Steve Thorntonpercussion
Where next?
More by Jackie McLean
All 46 albums →
The musicians on this record
Revelations 1988
McCoy Tyner
plays piano here
plays piano here
Marcus Miller 1984
Marcus Miller
plays electric bass guitar here
plays electric bass guitar here
Where? 1961
Ron Carter
plays double bass here
plays double bass here
♫
More Jazz Meets the Symphony 1994
Jon Faddis
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
