Jackie McLean

A title card announces that the film is a result of found footage assembled by cameraman J.J. Burden working for the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn, who has disappeared. Leach, a heroin addict, introduces the audience to his apartment where other heroin addicts, a mix of current and former jazz musicians, are waiting for Cowboy, their drug connection, to appear. Things go out of control as the men grow increasingly nervous and the cameraman keeps recording.

Concert performance by 30 jazz greats from the Blue Note label, at Town Hall, New York City, February 22nd, 1985.

Jackie McLean is a true jazz master and one of the few true authorities of the bebop era still in business, but at the time of this film his main gig was teaching at Hartford. Hartford seems to have had a low-profile and low-budget jazz department, and the same goes for this film, which clocks in at just over half an hour, and barely scratches the surface of the subject matter. Still, what is here is engaging and a surprisingly candid portrait. McLean is shown practicing in his apartment and - briefly - playing with his quintet, but most of the running time is spent at Hartford in the classroom - and what classes they must have been. McLean's stream-of-consciousness lectures run from Sun Ra to JFK's assassination to how he learned Giant Steps, and the students try their best to keep up. A fascinating glimpse into the mind of a jazz musician.