Billboard : 02/10/1958
Two stars

A blowing session of sporting altoists J. Mclean and John Jenkins, both bearing the stamp of Charlie Parker a little too blatantly. Of the two, McLean shows more individuality in his statements, generally fashioning his solos in a more provocative manner.

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High Fidelity
John S. Wilson : May 1958

Two hard-toned, monotonous Parker imitators shrill their relentless way through an endless series of solos.

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Pittsburgh Courier : 02/22/1958
Harold L. Keith : 3.5 stars

Jackie McLean and John Jenkins‘ new album, Alto Madness, could well have been labeled Two of a Kind, for they bring a piquant flavor to this LP which is singular in the method of attack which both musicians employ in a set of five numbers.

On the disc with the with the alto sax aces are Wade Legge, Doug Watkins, and Art Taylor. The quintet maneuvers on Alto Madness, The Lady’s a Tramp, Windy City, Easy Living, and Pondering. Jenkins is a fresh new face on the scene with an approach which seems to be from the same biting school as McLean. Both lads inveigh the usage of jagged outbursts of off-tempo phrasing spaced by quick syncopated runs.

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Down Beat : 04/03/1958
John A. Tynan : 3 stars

Sooner or later, one supposes, it must become an unfortunate necessity in describing contemporary altoists to relegate each to one of two main groups: “the Birdmen” and “the others.” This is regrettable for a variety of reasons, of course; necessary, because in their slavish devotion to the legend of Charlie Parker, his followers have abandoned hope of ever really standing on their own hind legs as individually distinctive artists. In this latest example of secondhand Bird lore, one sense the ever-present ghost of Parker, settle like some benign guardian angel, on the shoulders of his young disciples.

Mirroring of the master aside, there is much good, healthy blowing in this set. Of specialized interest is the tonal contrast between McLean and Jenkins. While both are by no means sharply contrasted, young Chicagoan Jenkins displays a less aggressive tone than his harshly strident colleague.

Withal, as the Ira Gitler notes point out, they “… are difficult to tell apart in many instances. Jackie’s sound is softer than usual here but is still harder than John’s. John is closer to Bird in phrasing.”

The line of McLean’s blues, Alto Madness, is rather dull; the whole opening phrase lacks sparkle. After a few choruses, Taylor infuses it with some vitality, while both hornmen speak their respective pieces. Overall, there is an undeniable feeling of monotony, heightened by the closing fadeout.

Up and swinging, Windy is presumably a bow to Jenkins’ home town, during which the altos trade ideas constantly. (Legge solos fluently in this, Lady and Pondering, demonstrating his rippling, confident ideas to excellent advantage.) McLean’s utter lack of subtlety becomes quite wearing; he blows as if determined to grind down all resistance.

In Easy Living, the only slow ballad in the set, McLean mellows somewhat, waxing almost lyrical at times. Here the similarity of the two altos is even more marked, although Jenkins plays only on the release of each chorus.

Throughout, the rhythm section is excellent. Watkins fulfills his function admirably while Taylor keeps pushing that tight, swinging sock cymbal like a watchful drill instructor. Watkins takes a more-than-adequate chorus in Jenkins’ Pondering.

In noting the well-nigh-deadening similarity between the horns of McLean and Jenkins, one is prompted to toy with the intriguing possibility of assembling all such Bird followers in the same studio for a marathon session. (There are so many Birdmen by now, it is doubtful if the nation’s tape supply would hold out, even if every one were restricted to playing one chorus.) What a maddening game to attempt to single out one fledgling from another.

Recommended mainly for those willing to settle for two latter-day birds-in-the-hand.

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Liner Notes by Ira Gitler

There is a method to this alto madness, one favored by most of the young alto players today… the method of Charlie Parker.

Bird, in his far reaching influence, set up an unofficial “Player’s Studio” where many other instrumentalists, in addition to saxophonists, learned at the master’s feet but his main stylistic impact has been upon the saxophone with the alto the one most strongly shaped, of course. In fact, Parker can be said to have given the alto its greatest popularity since the era of the flapper, racoon coat and bathtub gin.

Two of the youngblood, hotblood performers on the alto are Jackie McLean and John Jenkins.

Modern jazz fans have come to know McLean, quite intimately, from his numerous appearances as a leader and sideman on Prestige. He is a native New Yorker (1932) who grew into jazz as a teenager by playing with a neighborhood band that included Sonny Rollins, Kenny Drew and Arthur Taylor. His most important basic training came through listening to Parker and practicing with Bud Powell. Bud taught him chord changes and helped him absorb the lessons by practical application. At the age of sixteen, Jackie was introduced at Birdland as a member of Powell’s group. In 1951, Jackie made his first recordings with Miles Davis and then, as the fifties progressed, played with the groups of George Wallington, Charlie Mingus and Art Blakey. Descendant of Charlie Parker, in style, sound and spirit, Jackie also drew from the pre-1955 Sonny Rollins. The combination of his influences with the emerging Jackie McLean rounded into a distinct personality and in 1957, Jackie headed his own group. Long before this he had been a leader on records; these include Lights Out (PRLP 7035), 4, 5 and 6 (PRLP 7048), Jackie’s Pal (PRLP 7068) and Jackie McLean & Co. (7087).

John Jenkins has just come upon the New York scene and, as a result, the national scene from his home in Chicago. A year older than McLean, he began to appear professionally in his home town at approximately the same time Jackie was first being heard in New York. Most of his valuable experience was gained at the jam sessions held at Roosevelt College during the 1949-1956 period; he also headed his own group at the Beehive in Xmas of 1955. In 1957, John came to New York, played briefly with Charlie Mingus and then occupied himself with weekend club engagements and recording. He was first heard on Prestige in On the Sunnyside (PRLP 7103) with Paul Quinichette. John is very Birdlike in his alto movements – quick-darting, skipping along, His professed admiration for McLean can be heard in his playing too.

Wade Legge, born in Huntington, WV, (1934) and raised in Buffalo, NY, by parents who both play the piano, is the pianist in this set. Milt Jackson recommended him to Dizzy Gillespie in 1952 and Wade remained with Diz for two years. Since then he has freelanced in New York and in 1957 was with Max Roach (hear Sonny Rollins Plays For Bird, PRLP 7095) and Johnny Richards‘ orchestra. Wade is another of the many young pianists who have chosen the Bud Powell idiom for their means of expression.

Doug Watkins and Arthur Taylor have formed a cohesive rhythm duo many times in the past and continue to do so here. Doug is from Detroit (born 1934) where he went to school with Donald Byrd and Paul Chambers. He gained important experience with Barry Harris‘ trio as they backed the top hornmen who visited Detroit. In 1954 Doug came to New York and has appeared with the Jazz Messengers and Horace Silver‘s quintet. He likes Percy Heath, Ray Brown and Slam Stewart on his instrument.

Art Taylor is from New York where has was born in 1929. He grew up with many of our currently active modern jazzmen and has worked with Coleman Hawkins, George Wallington, Buddy DeFranco, Bud Powell, Art Farmer and Miles Davis. His favorites are Art Blakey and Max Roach. Arthur can be heard at the help of his own recording unit in Taylor’s Wailers (Prestige 7117).

This session has the vitality and emotion that we have come to expect from the young practitioners in the Parker tradition. Due to idiomatic similarity of their styles and the fact that playing together causes a mutual transference of traits, McLean and Jenkins are difficult to tell apart in many instances. Jackie’s sound is softer than usual here but is still harder than John’s. John is closer to Bird in phrasing.

The set opens with the title number, Alto Madness, a twelve-bar blues riff credit to McLean. Jackie plays the theme and John answers him in the first chorus. Then it’s Jackie for three choruses, John for three, Jackie for three and John for three more; Jackie for two choruses, John for two, Jackie for two and John for two. Then they trade one chorus apiece through eight choruses before trading four bars apiece for six choruses with Jackie leading off. After this there are two choruses of two bars apiece with Jackie again first, two more choruses of “fours” in the same order and Jackie takes it out in the fading sunset of Rudy Van Gelder’s dial.

Windy City is a swinger form the word go. A fanfare follows the original theme by Jenkins and introduces an opening chorus split between the two horns. Jackie plays the first four bars and John answers him. It’s the same in the second eight and the last eight. The bridge is handled by John alone. John blows three choruses and Jackie four followed by three from Legge and one by Taylor before the horns take it out.

The B side beings with another up tempo swinger. Jackie carries the melody of The Lady Is A Tramp in the first chorus. Then John plays two choruses followed by Jackie. After Wade plays one, there are four bar exchanges for a chorus with Jackie first. Jackie then has the final melody chorus to himself.

The only slow ballad of the set, Easy Living, is present in three choruses with Jackie doing most of the playing. John appears only on each of the bridges while Wade Legge plays the last eight bars in the second chorus.

Jenkins’ beautiful Pondering concludes the album with some thoughtful, soulful playing, The theme is played by the two horns with only Watkins backing except in the bridge when the rest of the rhythm section joins in. Jackie and John split the bridge in that order. The solos are two choruses apiece in the same order and the one each by Wade and Doug. In the out chorus, the full rhythm section is present except on the bridge which has only Watkins backing Jackie and John.