Review – Jackie McLean on Mars

I recently had the opportunity to watch a great documentary called Jackie McLean on Mars. It chronicles the man’s life in a very real and compelling fashion, revealing his skills as a great saxophonist and as a teacher where he taught at the Hartt School of Music at Hartford Connecticut. 

He is interviewed in his classroom, and u can see the passion he has in his teaching. He also reveals his drug abuse problem which led him to lose his Cabaret Card to perform. He also speaks about the politics of Jazz and the commercialism in the music industry. It shows his love for the art, and his students really show their appreciation of his knowledge. His love for other Jazz musicians shows when talking to the students.

He also speaks about the sacrifice he made when he started teaching, in which he said that it took away from practicing his art and that he was losing muscle abilities to play because of age. He spoke about doing gigs, and how it’s not always consistent and how much he appreciated in having a job in teaching which gave him some financial security. Overall, this was very enlightening and heartfelt. Jackie McLean is one of the greats, take time to listen to his music, the man has played with the best in Jazz. RIP to a legend Jackie McLean 

This is Perry Thompson from the Rhythm and Blues Preservation Society on behalf of Soul Patrol.