Let Freedom Ring

Let Freedom Ring is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean, recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.[2] It features McLean in a quartet with pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Herbie Lewis and drummer Billy Higgins.

This article is about the album. For the book by Sean Hannity, see Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism. For the 1939 Western, see Let Freedom Ring (film). For the documentary about hemp, see High Times. For the song, see My Country, 'Tis of Thee.
Let Freedom Ring
Studio album by
Jackie McLean
ReleasedMay 1963[1]
RecordedMarch 19, 1962
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
GenreHard bop, post-bop, modal jazz
Length38:16
LabelBlue Note
BST 84106
ProducerAlfred Lion
Jackie McLean chronology
A Fickle Sonance
(1961)		 Let Freedom Ring
(1963)		 Tippin' the Scales
(1962)

McLean wrote three of the four compositions. "Melody for Melonae" is dedicated to his daughter (as was an earlier composition, "Little Melonae"), and appeared as "Melanie" on Matador, a later recording that he made with Kenny Dorham. The slower-tempo performance on Let Freedom Ring was the first occasion that McLean used "provocative upper-register screams".[3] "Rene" and "Omega" are both blues-related pieces, the former with a standard twelve-bar structure and harmonies, the latter more abstract and modal. The one non-McLean track is Bud Powell's ballad, "I'll Keep Loving You".

Reception

The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 5 stars and stated: "The success of Let Freedom Ring paved the way for a bumper crop of other modernist innovators to join the Blue Note roster and, artistically, it still stands with One Step Beyond as McLean's greatest work."[4] The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives Let Freedom Ring four out of four stars, and includes the album in a select "Core Collection".[5]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Jackie McLean except where noted

  1. "Melody for Melonae" - 13:24
  2. "I'll Keep Loving You" (Bud Powell) - 6:18
  3. "Rene" - 10:03
  4. "Omega" - 8:31

Personnel

References
  1. Billboard May 18, 1963
  2. Jackie McLean discography, accessed January 13, 2013.
  3. Bob Blumenthal's liner notes to the 2003 RVG edition.
  4. Huey, S. Allmusic review, accessed January 13, 2013.
  5. Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. pp. 979–980. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
  6. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 136. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
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