Gil Mellé’s Patterns in Jazz is one of those under-the-radar Blue Note records that doesn’t try to blow the doors off with firepower—but instead offers something cooler, more cerebral, and quietly sophisticated. Released in 1956, this album sits at the crossroads of cool jazz, West Coast modernism, and the East Coast’s emerging hard bop scene. It's measured, moody, and a little off-center—in all the right ways.
Patterns in Jazz is not a jam session—it’s tightly arranged, with Mellé’s signature compositional quirks and atmospheric tone guiding the whole affair. The music leans toward the cerebral side of jazz, with nods to classical structures and modernist harmony. You won’t find aggressive solos or blues-soaked shouting here. Instead, you get clean, deliberate lines, cool textures, and a lot of space. Mellé’s baritone sax is smoother and less gruff than peers like Pepper Adams or Gerry Mulligan. His sound is airy and reserved, which suits the mood of this record perfectly.
Gil Mellé isn’t a household name, even among jazz buffs, but Patterns in Jazz is a quietly influential slice of mid-century modernism in jazz. It’s as much about textures and arrangements as it is about blowing. It helped set the tone for jazz’s more experimental and cinematic possibilities in the late ’50s and early ’60s, even as the hard bop scene was heating up. For fans of Gerry Mulligan, Chico Hamilton, or Jimmy Giuffre—or anyone who likes their jazz cool, thoughtful, and lightly angular—this is a deep cut worth revisiting.
Musicians:
Gil Mellé – baritone saxophone
Eddie Bert – trombone
Joe Cinderella – guitar
Oscar Pettiford – bass
Ed Thigpen – drums
