Jackie McLean's "Plight"

Jackie McLean’s “Plight” is a deliciously catchy, quirky jazz piece. Bobby Hutcherson’s vibes and the bassist keep it together with a very simple head and nice additional horns from McLean and the trumpeter in a call and response introduction. It’s actually quite deceptively simple, the head and vamp provided by Hutcherson. One can see this as an instance of McLean again experimenting with avant-garde influences in 1960s jazz, almost sounding like a composition by Grachan Moncur III, who was instrumental for the success of McLean albums such as Destination Out!. McLean’s solo, restrained exuberance, goes into the direction of less bop-rooted blowing, and the drummer, Billy Higgins, keeps things funky and utilizing the entirety of the drumset. The subsequent trumpet solo, is also restrained but nothing compared to McLean or Hutcherson’s vibes , who take a melodic route while never straying far from the melody. In some ways, it is a quirky composition one may expect from someone like Andrew Hill or Moncur III. Higgins’ spirited drumming, sounding like Elvin Jones at times, is pleasant to the ears and a sign of his expertise in performing not only in hard bop but modal and avant-garde jazz albums, as his work on Let Freedom Ring or The Shape of Jazz to Come reveals. Furthermore, something about Hutcherson’s playing is reminiscent of his own “Verse,” an introspective composition modeled on Coltrane’s “Spiritual” while featuring McCoy Tyner. As the title suggests, plight or danger or doom seems imminent in this dark tune, although it seems undefined or unknown. The rest of the album is quite good, too, stuck somewhere between hard bop and rousing numbers like "Hootnan" and bebop-based tunes such as the title track.