The time was right. It was 1963 and 31-year old altoist Jackie McLean was recording an album for the ages. McLean had been a major player for a dozen years by then and was a hard bop master but he wanted more in his music. One of the very few musicians of his generation to embrace free jazz, McLean was impressed by Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane but his goal was to create his own brand of free form music, one filled with soul and grooves yet exploring sounds never heard before.

In trombonist Grachan Moncur III. he had found a musical soul mate, one whose adventurous solos matched McLean's own and who was also a superior composer. With Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Larry Ridley and Roy Haynes, McLean and Moncur romp through four of their originals, swinging hard but engaging in new ideas and ferocious emotions, connected to the past but looking towards a wild future. Nothing was held back and the performances on Destination Out still sound futuristic, innovative and thrilling.

Like all Music Matters Jazz releases, this audiophile vinyl reissue is mastered from the original analog tape and pressed on 180g virgin vinyl at RTI in Camarillo, CA. The highest quality gatefold cover features original session photography on the inside.


See more Jackie McLean records here.