Saxophonist Jackie McLean grew up idolizing Charlie Parker and spoke about skipping school with friends to go hear “Bird” in New York City.  Jackie’s father was a guitarist in the Tiny Bradshaw Orchestra, and in high school the younger McLean played in a band with Sonny Rollins.  Young Jackie was good enough to get to sit in for his idol Parker.

McLean recorded with Miles Davis when only 20 years old, and shortly thereafter with Charles Mingus and as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.  He made his first record as a leader in 1955.

His early records fell into the hard bop category, but McLean continued to explore new areas as his career progressed, playing with musicians as disparate as Freddie Hubbard, Ornette Coleman and Donald Byrd.  In 1968 he began teaching at the University of Hartford and founded its African American Music Department, which now bears his name.

In 1979 director Ken Levis made a fascinating film study of McLean titled “Jackie McLean on Mars.”  McLean was elected to Downbeat Hall of Fame in 2006, the year of his death at the age of 74 after a long illness.

Here is a link to Jackie McLean playing with Woody Shaw, Cedar Walton and others at the 1986 Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival in Japan:

"COOL STRUTTIN'"