Lights Out!

Recorded on January 27, 1956, “Lights Out!” captures Jackie McLean during the formative years of a career that would establish him as one of the most distinctive alto saxophonists in modern jazz. Rooted in bebop but already moving toward the emerging language of hard bop, McLean’s playing reveals a highly personal combination of incisive tone, blues feeling and rhythmic intensity.
The outstanding quintet features Jackie McLean (alto sax), Donald Byrd (trumpet), Elmo Hope (piano), Doug Watkins (bass) and Art Taylor (drums). McLean and Byrd form a compelling front line, their contrasting sounds complemented by Hope’s inventive piano and the assured rhythmic support of Watkins and Taylor.
The album offers a varied program ranging from the slow, blues-inflected atmosphere of the extended title track to the different moods and tempos of “Up”, “Lorraine”, “A Foggy Day”, “Kerplunk” and “Inding”. Throughout the session, the musicians combine strong individual voices with a natural sense of interplay, giving the music both immediacy and cohesion.
Direct, expressive and deeply rooted in the blues, “Lights Out!” offers a vivid portrait of Jackie McLean at an important stage in his artistic development. Surrounded by some of the finest young jazz musicians of the period, he delivers a performance that already points toward the powerful and unmistakable musical identity that would characterize his later work.