By the late 1950's, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean had shaken off any comparisons to Charlie Parker (or other Parker followers), and had become a distinctive performer in his own right. JACKIE'S BAG, assembled from a couple of 1959 sessions, is a fantastic set of hard bop originals with hints of modality (think Miles Davis from this period) and the avant-garde (think Ornette Coleman, who later recorded with McLean).The original release bolstered by three bonus tunes, BAG isfull of surging, moody and ominous-sounding jazz with plenty of wonderful solos from McLean, trumpeter Donald Byrd, andthe under-recorded saxophonist Tina Brooks.