Encore: René McLean
By Alex Henderson
René McLean has played with a long list of jazz giants over the years but if there is one association that the New York City-based saxophonist is known for above all others, it must, of course, be his father, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean (who was 74 when he died in 2006). McLean influenced his son in many respects, from his sense of improvisation to a strong work ethic. Yet René’s compositional style is very much his own, and he has made his mark on several different wind instruments apart from alto: tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones, shakuhachi, ney and flutes.
Over a decade after his father’s death, McLean, now 70, continues to honor his memory with a variety of activities while pursuing quite a few other things as well. Last June he led a tribute at Smoke on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with alto saxophonist Gary Bartz, bassist Nat Reeves, drummer Ronnie Burrage and others. In the late ‘80s-early ‘90s, René and Reeves played together in an excellent quintet that was led by Jackie and also included drummer Carl Allen and late South African pianist Hotep Idris Galeta (who died in 2010). Galeta, René, Burrage and bassist David Eubanks are among the musicians featured on Time for Change—a 1985 Jackie session that has gone unreleased for over 30 years but will be coming out on René’s I’Jazza label at some point in the near future.
“I’m trying to do it soon,” he notes. “It’s long overdue.”
Looking back, McLean says that while his father was a major influence on him, their relationship was a two-way street: “We influenced each other. We learned from each other.”
René’s compositions like “Dance Little Mandissa,” “Zimbabwe” and “J-Mac’s Dynasty” became an important part of his father’s repertoire during that late ‘80s-early ‘90s period.
When McLean is performing tribute concerts, he includes material written while in his father’s group. “We have quite a repertoire to draw from: Jackie’s compositions as well as mine,” he explains. “We are celebrating JMac’s legacy with songs we played on his Dynasty and Rites of Passage albums as well as some of his earlier compositions.”
René is a professor of African-American Music for the Jackie McLean Institute at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School in Connecticut. He also spent time teaching in South Africa, where his students included vocalist Judith Sephuma, guitarist Jimmy Dludlu, bassists Lucas Senyatso and Musa Manzini and others. McLean recalls that when he first visited South Africa as a sideman with trumpeter Hugh Masekela and the late singer Miriam Makeba, the Apartheid system was still in place.
“Hugh and Miriam were the voice of the anti-Apartheid movement and they were banned from South Africa at the time,” McLean remembers.
“They were living in exile.” He witnessed many political changes during his time in South Africa, including the abolition of Apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela as president in 1994. “I saw South Africa at the height of Apartheid. And then in the ‘90s, a period of change was underway. But the scars left by Apartheid remained. You can’t just change a society overnight. And South Africa is still dealing with the effects of apartheid in many ways— just like the United States. We’re still dealing with issues of race in the United States to this day. La lucha continua, as they say.”
McLean has mixed feelings about the digital era. On one hand, he likes the fact that Millennials can easily explore a wide variety of jazz on a website like YouTube but on the other hand, laments the decline of brick-and-mortar record stores—a vital part of the jazz experience for generations.
“There is a wealth of information available now on the Internet,” he observes. “But there is also an aspect of the music that is being lost. The new generation is accustomed to instant gratification. When I was that age, we would wait in great anticipation for artists to make an album. We would go to the record store—and later, the CD shop—and look for new recordings and look forward to reading the liner notes. But that aspect of the culture kind of gets lost now... The whole process of spending hours in a record store, going through the bins and finding music gets lost.”
McLean has a wealth of jazz memories and when he is interacting with young students, he is more than happy to talk about his father. “I continue to celebrate the legacy of Jackie McLean in all that I do, whether it be in the classroom or on the bandstand,” he emphasizes. “Growing up with Jackie McLean was a really special experience.”
[As of press time, McLean’s NYC dates have been cancelled]
Recommended Listening:
• Jackie McLean and the Cosmic Brotherhood— New York Calling (SteepleChase, 1974)
• René McLean Sextet—Watch Out (SteepleChase, 1975)
• Louis Hayes/Woody Shaw Quintet—Lausanne 1977 (Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 5) (TCB, 1977)
• Jackie McLean Quintet (featuring René McLean)— Dynasty (Triloka, 1988)
• Yusef Lateef (featuring René McLean)— Tenors (YAL, 1993)
• Jackie McLean & The Macband—Fire and Love (Blue Note, 1997)
