Jackie McLean - So Long, Akhiy

I have been wanting to write something about Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem, a.k.a., Jackie McLean, who passed away on March 30^th, at the age of 74. I have found few musicians who's music is repeatedly listenable as McLean's. My favorite album of his is Jacknife, originally a two-LP release that was tinged with Eastern rhythms and modal structures. On The Nile, the first track I heard off of Jacknife really transported me to a place. I cannot say if it was the Nile but it was a Nile that McLean had envisioned. That's what I loved about him. His music could truly transport you somewhere. But McLean could also just flat out burn! Coming solidly out of the bop tradition, Jackie digested the entire be-bop language, internalized it and then fashioned it anew in his own sight and sound. Be it a ballad, a standard or one of his own out originals, Jackie could swing. My saddest regret with all of this is that I never had a chance to meet him or hear him live. When I was studying and playing jazz, McLean's sound (along with Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane) was heavily influential. I respected him for his bold originality while still being tied to the jazz tradition. It seems I have been born at a time when many of the greats have already left us or are in such poor health, many are not playing. Jackie's music becomes precious to me now. I hope that other people will discover the brilliant musician that was Jackie McLean - a.k.a., Omar Ahmed Abdul Kariem; may God have mercy on his soul.