Recording dates are always essential and all producers should realise that. The time-gap between these two classic Blue Note albums [given in tiny print as 1959 and 1962] is particularly significant because of the seismic events then shaking the world of modern jazz. Among them was the emergence of Ornette Coleman's Change of the Century and the unprecedented marathon workouts by the John Coltrane quartet. There's striking evidence here of how strongly those innovations influenced one of the most popular soloists of the hardbop era. On the first album, with Bishop, Garrison and Taylor, altoist Jackie McLean is still firmly in Birdland, with of course that fat, intense tone and laconic phrasing of his own. But before taping the second album, with Davis, Lewis and Higgins, McLean enjoyed a two-year stint with Charles Mingus, who repeatedly urged him to become more original. As a result some changes are made. Jackie's distinctive Parkerian concept is still present but now in the service of considerably longer solos per track, with piercing high-harmonic shrieks frequently inserted for emotive rather than purely musical effect. Jackie's compositions, too, have become more open-ended, with stop-start beat-patterns to break up the straight-ahead swing. Significantly his drummer is Billy Higgins, who worked with Ornette, and on themes like ‘Omega’ pianist Walter Davis is similarly well up for some avant-garde games. Later McLean albums like Destination Out and One Step Beyond further accelerated a process, which critically divided his fans, delighting some but alienating others. This fascinating CD appears to define that crossroads moment.