Jackie McLean
was peaking in the mid-1960s when he recorded this scorching session. In the liner notes to my original
pressing, Jackie tells the charming story of mistaking Tony Williams for
an enthusiastic young fan instead of the drummer on a pick-up gig he
was playing in Boston. Soon enough, Williams was under McLean's wing in
New York, and, just as quickly, poached by Miles Davis.
Here,
Tony Williams is spectacular; the intense interplay of cymbals and loosely
tuned toms, the slowing of the beat (but not the rhythmic pulse) to
comment on what the soloist is playing and the sheer forcefulness (like
Elvin Jones or "Philly" Joe Jones) of his drumming. His playing certainly inspires McLean, whose work is passionate, intense, brimming with ideas and characteristically economical.
It
was also inspiring on McLean's part to substitute for a pianist, the vibraphone of Bobby Hutcherson, whom, not unlike Tony Williams, was also on the
cusp of stardom. The colors and timbres these two produce add
enormously to this session. This album also introduces trombonist
Grachan Moncur, whose soloing, while technically limited, consists of
punchy riffs and phrases. McLean graciously ceded leadership of a
companion date, 'Evolution', to Moncur.
Though Jackie often said during this time period that he wanted to move in a
freer direction, 'One Step Beyond' basically is hard bop, just with more
reliance on blues derived scales and modes. Within this context, it's
played brilliantly, and cooks.
'One Step Beyond' is rooted in the past, one foot in the present, and looking to a future
that never fully came to be, it's one of the greats of the original run
of post-bop albums. Not really free, but there's a freedom here without a
question. McLean would see some surprise success off of this album, and
for the next year worked extensively with Moncur and different
variations of much the same band.
Then Jackie was incarcerated for dope
(once again), he served six months in prison and never quite re-captured the moment on his exceptional run
of Blue Note's through 1967. This was the one that broke it all and put
it back together, though, and it belongs in every serious jazz
collection.
Jackie McLean - Alto saxophone
Grachan Moncur III - Trombone
Bobby
Hutcherson - Vibes
Eddie Khan - Bass
Tony Williams - Drums
Produced by Alfred Lion, and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, on April 30, 1963
For the freeload, tell us: when you were a little kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
