Jackie McLean – Vertigo (Blue Note Tone Poet, Deluxe Edition)

Jackie McLean's Vertigo captures the alto saxophonist at a fascinating Blue Note turning point: most of the music comes from a 1963 Rudy Van Gelder studio session that stayed in the vault until 1980, just two months before McLean recorded One Step Beyond. That timing matters, because you can hear him stretching hard bop toward something more open and searching while still keeping one foot firmly in the blues.

The core band is a serious draw in itself, with Donald Byrd on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Across pieces like the title track, “Dusty Foot,” and “Yams,” the set moves through bristling post-bop, sly funk touches, and slower blues feeling without losing its snap. One piece, “Formidable,” comes from an earlier 1959 session with Byrd, Walter Davis Jr., Paul Chambers, and Pete LaRoca, and its inclusion gives the album an extra glimpse of McLean’s development across the decade.

This Tone Poet edition makes a strong case for an album that sat in the shadows of McLean’s more famous 1960s run. Heard now, Vertigo feels less like a footnote than a vivid snapshot of an artist pushing at the edges of Blue Note language with a band full of future history.

Features

• LP, 33RPM, 180g, Blue Note Tone Poet, Stereo
• Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tapes
• Produced by Joe Harley
• Pressed at RTI
• Deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket