McLean, Jackie: Vertigo (Blue Note Tone Poet) LP

Two months before Jackie McLean recorded his inside-out masterpiece One Step Beyond in 1963, the alto saxophonist was in the studio recording a dynamic quintet session that would eventually be released as Vertigo as part of the LT Series in 1980. Primarily featuring a state-of-the-art band with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Tony Williams, the set presents a dizzying array of styles from bristling post-bop (“Vertigo”) to sophisticated funk (“Dusty Foot”) to slow blues (“Yams”). The hard bop centerpiece “Formidable” was drawn from an earlier 1959 session featuring Byrd, pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Pete LaRoca.