A Fickle Sonance in Bloomington, MN

Alto saxophonist
Jackie McLean
was one of the few jazz players to come up through bebop and incorporate free jazz into his style. 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. The sidemen on the date (
Tommy Turrentine
[trumpet],
Sonny Clark
[piano], and
Butch Warren
[bass]) prove to be an invigorating combination of musicians, however not as involved in the burgeoning free music as drummer
Billy Higgins
. At the time of these sessions,
Higgins
had already played with
Ornette Coleman
, providing a link to the avant-garde, but nevertheless his playing follows the hard bop pace of the others.
provides two original compositions,
"Subdued"
and the title track, while
Clark
,
Turrentine
, and
Warren
fill the remaining tracks. ~ Al Campbell