Jackie McLean – Let Freedom Ring (New Vinyl) (Blue Note Tone Poet)

NEW LP

New sealed copy. 2024 Blue Note Records Tone Poet remastered reissue on 180 gram vinyl. Remastered by Kevin Gray. Pressed at Record Technology Incorporated. Jacket printed by Stoughton Printing Co.

Let Freedom Ring, an album by American jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean, was recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label. The album features McLean in a quartet with pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Billy Higgins.

McLean composed three of the four tracks on the album. “Melody for Melonae” is dedicated to his daughter, just like his earlier composition “Little Melonae,” and was titled “Melanie” on Matador, a later recording he made with Kenny Dorham. This slower-tempo performance marked the first time McLean used “provocative upper-register screams.” “Rene” and “Omega” are both blues-inspired pieces. “Rene” follows a standard twelve-bar structure and harmonies, while “Omega” is more abstract and modal. The only track not written by McLean is Bud Powell’s ballad, “I’ll Keep Loving You.”

TRACKLIST:

A1        Melody For Melonae
A2        I'll Keep Loving You
B1        Rene
B2        Omega