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Re: What exactly didn't sit well w/you re:Jacknife?

I know I typed up a response yesterday, but for some reason it doesn't seem to have gotten posted.

I wouldn't necessarily put "Jacknife" in the "old crap" category; my remark was more a general one than specific to that release.

But having said that, I would suggest that there are far superior things McLean did about the same time, primarily "The Connection", on which Freddie Redd was the composer/leader, but where Jackie did what I think is his greatest recorded work. There is also "Let Freedom Ring", another superlative job. By comparison, to my ears "Jacknife" sounds rough around the edges, especially in ensembles, and at times as though they couldn't wait to get through it.

I think it is important to remember that many Blue Note dates were essentially somewhat better organized jam sessions with musicians who had not often-if ever-played together with results that were not always sterling. "Jacknife" strikes me as one of those that simply didn't quite jell, in spite of the occasional decent solo.

The recording isn't helped much by the sound quality either, but it's hard to tell how much of that was an off day from RVG or a botch by Ron McMaster. This is a common dilemma on many of these older reissued (on CD) Blue Notes, which I've found to be quite variable sonically.

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