His father, John Sr., who died in 1939, played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra. After his father's death, his musical education was continued by his godfather, by his stepfather, who owned a record store, and by several noted teachers. He also received informal tutoring from neighbours Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and Charlie Parker. During high school he played in a band with Kenny Drew, Sonny Rollins, and Andy Kirk, Jr. (the tenor saxophonist son of Andy Kirk).
He recorded with Miles Davis, on Davis' Dig album, when he was 19 years old. Rollins played on the same album. As a young man McLean also recorded with Gene Ammons, Charles Mingus, George Wallington, and as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (he reportedly joined the Jazz Messengers after being punched by the notoriously violent Mingus and, fearing for his life, brandished a knife and contemplated stabbing him).
McLean was a heroin addict throughout his early career, and the resulting loss of his New York City cabaret license forced him to undertake a large number of recording dates; consequently he produced a large body of recorded work in the 1950s and 60s. He was under contract with Blue Note Records from 1959 to 1967, having previously recorded for Prestige. Blue Note offered better pay and more artistic control than other labels, and his work for Blue Note is highly regarded.
In 1962 he recorded Let Freedom Ring for Blue Note. This album was the culmination of attempts he had made over the years to deal with harmonic problems in jazz, especially in soloing on his piece "Quadrangle." (*"Quadrangle" appears on BST 4051, Jackie's Bag, recorded in 1959). Let Freedom Ring began a period in which he performed with avant-garde musicians rather than the veteran hard bop performers he had been performing with. His recordings from 1962 on, in which he adapted the innovations of modal and free jazz to hard bop, made his body of work distinctive.
In 1964, he served six months in prison on drug charges. The period immediately after his release from prison is known as his acid period because the three albums he released during it were much harsher in tone than his previous albums.
In 1967 his recording contract, like the contracts of many other progressive musicians, was terminated by Blue Note's new management. His opportunities to record promised so little pay that he abandoned recording as a way to earn a living, concentrating instead on touring. In 1968 he began teaching at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford. He later set up the university's African American Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its Jazz Studies degree program.
In 1970 he and his wife Dollie founded the Artists' Collective, Inc. of Hartford, an organization dedicated to preserving the art and culture of the African diaspora. It provides educational programs and instruction in dance, theatre, music and visual arts.
He received an American Jazz Masters fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001.
His son René is a jazz saxophonist and flautist as well as a jazz educator.
After a long illness, McLean died on March 31, 2006 in Hartford, Connecticut
A Cottage For Sale
Jackie McLean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is lonely and silent, the shades are all drawn,
And my heart is heavy as I gaze upon
A cottage for sale
The lawn we were proud of is waving in hay,
Our beautiful garden has withered away,
Where you planted roses,the weeds seem to say,
From every single window, I see your face,
But when I reach a window, there's empty space.
The key's in the mail box the same as before,
But no one is waiting any more,
The end of the story is told on the door.
A cottage for sale.
In the song "A Cottage For Sale," Jackie McLean paints a vivid picture of a once lovely home, now abandoned and forlorn, just like the love that once inhabited it. The imagery invoked by the lyrics is melancholic and lonely. The phrase "our little dream castle with every dream gone" sets the tone of the song, suggesting that the once happy couple who lived there have now gone separate ways. The shades are all drawn, the lawn is overgrown, and the garden has withered away. The image of weeds where roses once bloomed just adds to the sense of loss and neglect.
The chorus of the song is perhaps the most poignant. "From every single window, I see your face, but when I reach a window, there's empty space." This line captures the feeling of longing and desperation that comes with a relationship that has ended. Even though the couple is no longer together, the memories of their life and love linger on, torturing the singer with what might have been. The final image of the locked door on the cottage for sale is the ultimate symbol of lost love, as the house that they once shared becomes just another empty shell, waiting for someone else to fill it.
Line by Line Meaning
Our little dream castle with every dream gone,
Our once beautiful and hopeful home, where we imagined a bright future, now lies in ruins and disappointment with all our dreams shattered.
Is lonely and silent, the shades are all drawn,
The house now stands empty and quiet, with no signs of life. All the windows are covered as if to keep the sadness inside.
And my heart is heavy as I gaze upon
As I look at what was once our home full of happiness and love, I feel a deep sense of sadness and loss weighing on my heart.
A cottage for sale
This house, which was once filled with our joy and laughter, is now being sold and left behind, empty and forgotten.
The lawn we were proud of is waving in hay,
The yard we once took pride in, with its well-manicured lawn and landscaping, is now overgrown and neglected, the weeds growing tall and uncontrolled.
Our beautiful garden has withered away,
The garden we planted and tended with care, where we grew our favorite plants and flowers, has now died and withered, unable to survive without our loving attention.
Where you planted roses, the weeds seem to say,
The place where we once planted fragrant roses is now overrun with unwanted weeds, mocking the memories of the beauty we once created.
From every single window, I see your face,
Every window in the house reminds me of you, and I can see your reflection in the glass as if you're still here with me.
But when I reach a window, there's empty space.
Despite seeing you in every window, I realize there is no one there, and the empty space only reinforces the loneliness of the house.
The key's in the mail box the same as before,
The key to the house is still in the mailbox where we always kept it, as if ready for someone to return and make it a home again.
But no one is waiting any more,
Despite the key being there, no one is coming back to claim the house or make it a home again, and it will remain empty and unloved.
The end of the story is told on the door.
The final chapter of our story is written on the door of the house, where it now hangs open and abandoned, marking the end of an era and the loss of what was once a happy home.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Larry Conley, Willard Robinson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind