James McLean is an improvising drummer who approaches music as both a sonic and physical encounter.

His performances unfold as explorations of rhythm, sound, and movement. With a deep curiosity for experimentation and having undertaken PhD research in embodied music cognition, McLean’s artistry blurs the boundary between listening and seeing, sound and motion.

He is deeply ingrained in the Australian Jazz scene, being a member of notable ensembles including Spirograph Studies, Andrea Keller’s Five Below, and The Eugene Ball 4tet; and in 2016 he received the Freedman Fellowship for Jazz. Beyond Jazz, James was a Speak Percussion Bespoke Artist from 2020-2022, is a founding member of the Australian Creative Music Ensemble (ACME), and is a solo performer, having released three albums of music for solo drums (most recently Interstitial in 2021). 

"Jazz is alive and growing in Australia and James McLean is new-generation proof."

Dr. Richard Letts

"… McLean sometimes supplied a series of sudden curt, brief bands, and rolls using wire brushes…  I have heard many sounds spring from a drum kit, but rarely such wide, grainy ones."

John Clare

James is based in Melbourne, Australia.