Claude McLin (December 27, 1925 – July 21, 1995)
was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

Biography

McLin was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. A graduate of

DuSable High School Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School is a public four-year high school campus located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. DuSable is owned by the Chicago Public Schools district. The school ...

, he was in a "baby band" with

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

and

Wilbur Campbell Wilbur may refer to: Places in the United States * Wilbur, Indiana, an unincorporated town * Wilbur, Trenton, New Jersey, a neighborhood in the city of Trenton * Wilbur, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Wilbur, Washington, a small farming t ...

in the spring of 1944. Returning from military service in 1946, he led a series of combos in Chicago. He often played the Pershing Ballroom in a battle-of-the-saxes format. His dueling partners included

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

Tom Archia Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. (November 26, 1919 – January 16, 1977) known as Tom Archia, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Early life Archia was born in Groveton, Texas, moving with his family as a child to Rockdale and then Baytown, n ...

Von Freeman Earle Lavon "Von" Freeman Sr. (October 3, 1923 – August 11, 2012) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Freeman as a young child was exposed to jazz. His father, George, a city policeman, was a c ...

and, on several occasions, his idol

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

. His own band featured pianist

Wild Bill Davis Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918 – August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with t ...

and drummer Eldridge "Bruz" Freeman in 1947 and 1948. McLin's high visibility on the South Side club scene eventually led to recording opportunities with

Aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

. A 1949 session was done with singer and pianist

Laura Rucker Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay o ...

while McLin's band was working at

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago blu ...

Macomba Lounge The Macomba Lounge, at 3905 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, was an after-hours music club owned by Leonard Chess from 1946 to October 1950, when it burned down. Chess had invested the money made from his two liquor stores into refurbishing an old eat ...

. McLin went on to make three sessions under his own name in 1950 and 1951. His rendition of "Mona Lisa" (recorded July 1950) hit the charts, but "Tennessee Waltz" (from the second session, in November 1950) did not repeat its commercial success, and his third session was left unissued at the time. He played on the legendary unreleased jazz session for Parkway Records under the leadership of

Bennie Green Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...

, and in October 1950 a live recording from the Pershing Ballroom found him subbing for

in the company of visiting headliner

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. In 1952, McLin, who was having trouble finding enough engagements in Chicago to support his family, moved to Los Angeles, where for a decade his combos found steady work. He appeared on an

Amos Milburn Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in Houston, Texas, and died there 52 years later. One commentator noted, "Milburn excel ...

session for

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Aladdin was known for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock mus ...

in 1954, with

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

on bass. In 1958 he recorded two singles for Golden Tone with the organ trio lineup that was then coming into fashion, and two blues for

Dootsie Williams Walter D. Williams, Jr. (June 17, 1911–August 21, 1991), known as Dootsie Williams, was an American record producer and record label owner who released early records by Redd Foxx and The Penguins. Life and career Williams was born in Mob ...

' Dootone label in 1958. In 1960, he recorded a single for his own Mac-Jac label. There is also a second Claude McLin single on Mac-Jac, probably recorded three or four years later. He also recorded at least five singles between 1960 and 1962 for a small label called

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

.Büttner, Armin and Nations, Opal Louis
"The Cawthron, C&C and Allegro labels"
Jazzdocumentation.com. Accessed 15 August 2022. McLin made his last recording session, for Dooto in 1964; as a sign the times were changing, he recorded a pop ballad on one side and a piece of eccentric garage rock on the other. He retired from music in the late 1960s, when popular demand for jazz had reached a low point, and worked other jobs in the Los Angeles area for the rest of his life.Campbell, Robert L.; Büttner, Armin and Pruter, Robert "The Claude McLin Discography"
clemson.edu. Accessed August 15, 2022. He died in Los Angeles on July 21, 1995, aged 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLin, Claude American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists 1925 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American military personnel of World War II