Hard Bop With Something to Prove
McLean's alto cuts through like he has a point to make and not much time to make it.
By 1959, Jackie McLean had already been around serious jazz circles long enough to know the difference between playing a session and meaning it. New Soil (1959) sits right in the middle of his Blue Note period, and it's a genuinely good hard bop record — not his most adventurous work, but one where everything clicks. The band is tight, the energy is high, and McLean's alto saxophone has that slightly raw, acidic tone that makes him instantly recognizable. He doesn't sound like Charlie Parker, even though the influence is obvious. He sounds like himself, which by 1959 was already saying something.
Donald Byrd on trumpet is a smart choice here. He's clean where McLean is gritty, and that contrast keeps the front line interesting. The rhythm section — Walter Davis Jr. on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Pete La Roca on drums — is exactly what you'd want for this kind of date. Chambers in particular is in strong form, anchoring everything without ever getting in the way. La Roca's drumming has a slightly loose, propulsive feel that suits the material well.
The album holds up because the playing is honest. This isn't McLean stretching toward the avant-garde experiments that would come later in the early sixties — that's a different, arguably more ambitious chapter. What you get here is a saxophonist in his mid-twenties who has figured out his voice and is putting it to work in a straightforward hard bop context. If you're coming to McLean for the first time, there are a few other records that might show his range more fully, but New Soil is a solid entry point and a genuinely enjoyable listen on its own terms.
Who's playing
Paul Chambersbass
Walter Davis Jr.piano
Jackie McLeanalto saxophone
Donald Byrdtrumpet
Pete La Rocadrums
Where next?
More by Jackie McLean
All 46 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
