Jackie McLean
had always been a highly emotional soloist, so it makes sense that he was one of the first
hard bop
veterans to find a new voice in the burning intensity of
jazz
's emerging
avant-garde
.
McLean
had previously experimented with
Coltrane
's angular modes and scales and
Ornette
's concept of chordal freedom, but
Let Freedom Ring
was the landmark masterpiece where he put everything together and ushered in the era of the modernists at
Blue Note
. A number of saxophonists were beginning to explore the ability of the instrument to mimic human cries of passion, and here
perfected a long, piercing squeal capable of expressing joy, anguish, fury, and more. The music on
remained more rooted in
structure than
Coleman
's, and
was still recognizably himself, but that was precisely what was revolutionary about the album: It validated the
aesthetic, demonstrating that it had enough value to convert members of the old guard, and wasn't just the province of radical outcasts. There are only four pieces, one of which is the surging
Bud Powell
ballad
"I'll Keep Loving You"
; the other three are
originals (
"Melody for Melonae,"
"Rene,"
and
"Omega,"
dedicated to his daughter, son, and mother respectively) that spotlight his tremendous inventiveness on extended material and amaze with a smoldering fire that never lets up. Pianist
Walter Davis
takes the occasional solo, but the record is
's statement of purpose, and he accordingly dominates the proceedings, with the busy, free-flowing dialogues of bassist
Herbie Lewis
drummer
Billy Higgins
pushing him to even greater heights. The success of
paved the way for a bumper crop of other modernist innovators to join the
roster and, artistically, it still stands with
One Step Beyond
as
's greatest work. ~ Steve Huey