1962 · Album
Vertigo
Recorded 1962 and 1963 · Blue Note · Produced by Not specified in provided sources
Waiting Eighteen Years for Vertigo
McLean's hard bop stayed true to form, which is exactly why the label shelved it.
Vertigo is a strange album in Jackie McLean's catalog because it barely existed for most of people's lives. The five tracks that made up the original 1980 release had been sitting in Blue Note's vault since 1963, unreleased and apparently unwanted. It took nearly two decades for anyone to hear them. The later CD edition added six more tracks from a 1962 session that had its own delayed journey, first appearing in 1978 as part of the double LP Hipnosis before getting redistributed here.
What's interesting is why it was withheld at all. Bill Shoemaker's review in JazzTimes explains it plainly: McLean wasn't straying far enough from the Blue Note playbook. The label had momentum with his more adventurous work — One Step Beyond and Destination Out! showed him leaning into the avant-garde — so a straightforward hard bop session probably seemed backward-looking by 1963. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow heard the range in these cuts, the catchy funk and hard bop mixed with avant-garde hints, but by the time Vertigo finally surfaced, that combination wasn't novel enough to justify the wait.
This is a solid, workmanlike record that didn't need to exist as a separate release. The material is competent hard bop and blues, exactly what you'd expect from McLean in this period. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave it three stars out of four, which feels about right — respectable, listenable, but not essential. If you're already deep into McLean's work, Vertigo fills a gap. If you're starting out, begin with One Step Beyond or Destination Out!, where his restless energy actually justified the studio time.
Who's playing
Butch Warrendouble bass
Herbie Hancockpiano
Jackie McLeanalto saxophone
Donald Byrdtrumpet
Tony Williamsdrums
Where next?
More by Jackie McLean
All 46 albums →
The musicians on this record
My Point of View 1963
Herbie Hancock
plays piano here
plays piano here
Byrd in Flight 1960
Donald Byrd
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
The Joy of Flying 1965
Tony Williams
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
