A Fickle Sonance

Last updated
A Fickle Sonance
A Fickle Sonance.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedEnd of November 1962 [1]
RecordedOctober 26, 1961
Studio Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, US
Genre Jazz
Length35:18
Label Blue Note
BST 84089
Producer Alfred Lion
Jackie McLean chronology
Bluesnik
(1962)
A Fickle Sonance
(1962)
Let Freedom Ring
(1962)

A Fickle Sonance is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1961 and released on the Blue Note label. [2] It features McLean in a quintet with trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Butch Warren and drummer Billy Higgins.

Contents

The "sonance" of the album’s title is an obsolete word for a sound or a tune. [3]

The opening track "Five Will Get You Ten" was originally credited to pianist Clark, but later co-writing credit was given to Thelonious Monk. The song is now believed to have been written solely by Monk as "Two Timer", though it was never recorded by him. The song's lead sheet was allegedly discovered by Clark in Monk's home, [4] or the home of jazz patroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, [5] and passed off as a Clark tune to pay for his drug addiction. The song's debut recording under its original title was by Monk's son, T. S. Monk on his 1997 album Monk on Monk.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

The AllMusic review by Al Campbell awarded the album 3 stars and stated:

Even though A Fickle Sonance preceded McLean's intense 1962 album Let Freedom Ring , the playing remained in a swinging blues-oriented style, showing no hint of the direction his music was about to take. [8]

In a 2016 review flophouse.com said:

If Jackie McLean’s career would’ve ended right after recording A Fickle Sonance, people would certainly have pointed out the alto saxophonist’s development from one of Charlie Parker’s most proficient disciples to an alto saxophonist that made his mark with a series of excellent Blue Note recordings from 1959 to 1961, employing his highly emotional, piercing sound: already a great legacy. However, McLean raised the bars considerably the following years, breaking and entering hard bop’s living quarters with a series of vanguard recordings in cooperation with avantgardists like Ornette Coleman. [9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Five Will Get You Ten" Thelonious Monk, Sonny Clark 7:06
2."Subdued" Jackie McLean 5:54
3."Sundu"Clark4:54
4."A Fickle Sonance"McLean6:49
5."Enitnerrut" Tommy Turrentine 5:48
6."Lost" Butch Warren 4:47

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie McLean</span> American jazz saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator (1931–2006)

John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in the year of their death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Clark</span> American jazz pianist (1931–63)

Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Dorham</span> American jazz trumpeter

McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public recognition from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did. For this reason, writer Gary Giddins said that Dorham's name has become "virtually synonymous with 'underrated'."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Warren</span> American jazz bassist

Edward Rudolph "Butch" Warren Jr. was an American jazz bassist who was active during the 1950s and 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Turrentine</span> American jazz musician

Thomas Walter Turrentine, Jr. was a swing and hard bop trumpeter and composer who was active between the 1940s and the 1960s. He rarely worked as a bandleader, and was known for his work as a sideman with drummer Max Roach and his younger brother, the saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.

<i>Brilliant Corners</i> 1957 studio album by Thelonious Monk

Brilliant Corners is a studio album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk. It was his third album for Riverside Records, and the first, for this label, to include his own compositions. The complex title track required over a dozen takes in the studio.

<i>Vertigo</i> (Jackie McLean album) 1980 studio album by Jackie McLean

Vertigo is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean, recorded in 1962 and 1963 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980. The initial release contained only the five tracks from 1963, while the later 2000 limited CD edition, released as part of the "Connoisseur Series", added six tracks from a 1962 session originally marked for release as Jackie McLean Quintet, first issued in 1978 as part of a double LP entitled Hipnosis.

<i>Quintet/Sextet</i> 1956 studio album by Miles Davis and Milt Jackson

Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet, also known as Quintet/Sextet is a studio album by the trumpeter Miles Davis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson released by Prestige Records in August 1956. It was recorded on August 5, 1955. Credited to "Miles Davis and Milt Jackson", this was an "all-star" session, and did not feature any of the members of Davis's working group of that time. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean appears on his own compositions “Dr. Jackle” and “Minor Apprehension”.

<i>Cool Struttin</i> 1958 studio album by Sonny Clark

Cool Struttin' is an album by American jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded on January 5, 1958 and released on Blue Note later that year. The quintet features horn section Art Farmer and Jackie McLean, and Miles Davis Quintet rhythm section Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers.

<i>Dig</i> (Miles Davis album) 1956 compilation album by Miles Davis

Dig is an album by Miles Davis on Prestige Records, catalogue number 7012. It features tracks from a 1951 session at Apex Studios. First released in the 12-inch LP format in 1956, The original album was later released as Diggin' with the catalogue number PR 7281 and a different cover. Dig was reissued as a compact disc with additional tracks.

<i>Tippin the Scales</i> 1979 studio album by Jackie McLean

Tippin' the Scales is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean. It was originally recorded in 1962, but was first released only in 1979 on the Japanese Blue Note label as GXF 3062, then finally released in the U.S. in 1984 as BST 84427. The CD reissue, released in 1989 and now out of print, added three alternate takes as bonus tracks.

<i>The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk</i> 1983 box set by Thelonious Monk

The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk is a box set by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk compiling his recordings for Blue Note first released as a limited four-LP box set on Mosaic Records in 1983 before being issued as a four-CD box set by Blue Note for the first time in 1994 as The Complete Blue Note Recordings.

<i>Hi Voltage</i> 1968 studio album by Hank Mobley

Hi Voltage is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on October 9, 1967 and released on the Blue Note label the following year. It features performances by Mobley with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist John Hicks, drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist Bob Cranshaw.

<i>Leapin and Lopin</i> 1962 studio album by Sonny Clark

Leapin' and Lopin' is an album by American jazz pianist Sonny Clark, recorded on November 13, 1961 and released on Blue Note in May 1962—Clark's final album as leader before his death the following year.

<i>Jubilee Shout!!!</i> 1986 studio album by Stanley Turrentine

Jubilee Shout!!! is an album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, recorded for the Blue Note label in 1962, but not released until 1986. The selection was originally included on the double LP Jubilee Shouts, together with some tracks later appeared as Comin' Your Way. Said LP, however, omitted some tracks which may be found on the CD editions of both albums.

<i>Capuchin Swing</i> 1960 studio album by Jackie McLean

Capuchin Swing is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label. It features McLean in a quintet featuring trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Walter Bishop Jr., bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. McLean and Mitchell do not play on “Don’t Blame Me”.

<i>Jackies Bag</i> 1961 studio album by Jackie McLean

Jackie's Bag is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1959 and 1960 and released by Blue Note. It features three tracks with McLean in a quintet featuring trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones, and six tracks with a sextet featuring tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor.

<i>Its Time!</i> (Jackie McLean album) 1965 studio album by Jackie McLean

It's Time! is an album recorded by a group led by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label. It features McLean in a quintet with trumpeter Charles Tolliver, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Roy Haynes.

<i>4, 5 and 6</i> 1956 studio album by Jackie McLean

4, 5 and 6 is a studio album by saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded for Prestige Records. It was recorded in 1956 and originally released that year as PRLP 7048. In 1962, the album was reissued under the same title on the Prestige sub-label New Jazz Records as NJ 8279 with a different cover. The album was reissued on CD in 1991. It features McLean in a quartet with pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor. Trumpeter Donald Byrd guests on three tracks, and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley on one.

<i>Hipnosis</i> (Jackie McLean album) 1978 studio album by Jackie McLean

Hipnosis is a studio album by saxophonist Jackie McLean. It features selections recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1960s, but not released until 1978. The album was released in the US as a two-fer, which included five songs from a 1967 session, plus six songs recorded in 1962 later appeared on the CD reissue of Vertigo. In Japan, it was released the same year as a standard LP (ST-83022) with a different cover, featuring only the 1967 tracks.

References

  1. "Spotlight Albums of the Week". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1 December 1962. p. 20. Retrieved 17 January 2023 via Google Books.
  2. "Jackie McLean discography". Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  3. "the definition of sonance". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  4. "The Thelonious Monk Compositions". theloniousrecords.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  5. Kelley, Robin D.G. (2009). Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original. Free Press. p. 568. ISBN 978-0-684-83190-9, p. 311
  6. https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-fickle-sonance-r155355
  7. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 979. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  8. Campbell, A. "A Fickle Sonance Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
  9. "Jackie McLean a Fickle Sonance (Blue Note 1961)". 21 August 2016.