Jackie McLean

Jackie McLean is, to my ear, one of the most emotionally honest voices in jazz. His alto tone, sharp, slightly biting, full of urgency, is instantly recognizable and impossible to fake. Beyond his playing, I am struck that he was also a composer, bandleader and dedicated educator, passing the music forward rather than hoarding it. Being elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in the year of his death speaks to how deeply he was respected. The NEA Jazz Masters honor only underlines it. For me, McLean represents jazz as both fierce personal expression and generous teaching, a rare and lasting combination.

Name (English)

Jackie McLean

Name (Japanese)

ジャッキー・マクリーン

Reading

じゃっきー・まくりーん

Born

May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Goat

Origin

New York City, New York, United States

Occupation

composer / bandleader / jazz musician / saxophonist / recording artist

Awards & achievements

• NEA Jazz Masters

• Official sitehttp://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/mclean.html
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie%20McLean
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%83%E3%82%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q920490

Tags

• New York
• composer
• bandleader
• jazz musician

Last updated

2026-06-23

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.