Les McCann

Les McCann ( born September 23, 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American jazz pianist, singer and composer.

Life and work

The strong blues and gospel -influenced pianist Les McCann was beside Ramsey Lewis of the pioneers of soul jazz. 1969 Les McCann met with the jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris at the Montreux Jazz Festival and had the song Compared to What, who appeared on the album " Swiss Movement ", a chart hit (among others was covered by Al Jarreau ). The song is a political critique of the Vietnam War.

Compared To What was originally recorded by Roberta Flack, as its discoverer McCann applies and is the first piece on their debut album First Take (1969).

In the 1970s, Les McCann published numerous other boards as a singer, with clear soul and funk influences.

In 1971, McCann and Harris appeared with Wilson Pickett, The Staple Singers, Santana and Ike & Tina Turner in Accra, Ghana, at a concert in front of 100,000 Ghanaians on. The concert was recorded as a documentary Soul To Soul and released in 2004 on DVD. In 1975 he toured with Klaus Doldinger's Passport ( Doldinger Jubilee '75 to listen to ). 2004, he joined with Cornell Dupree (guitar), Ronnie Cuber (tenor sax ), Gordon Edwarts ( bass) and Buddy Williams (Drum ) on at the Burghausen Jazz Week, where he presented, among others, his song Litle Blue Volkswagen.

Important recordings

  • The Shout, 1960, Pacific Jazz
  • Les McCann in San Francisco, 1960, Pacific Jazz
  • Les McCann in New York, 1961, Pacific Jazz
  • Much Les, 1968, Atlantic
  • Swiss Movement, 1969, Atlantic
  • Second Movement, 1971, Atlantic; with Eddie Harris
  • Invitation To Openness, 1971, Atlantic;
  • Layers, 1973
  • Another Beginning, 1974, Atlantic
  • River High, River Low, 1976, Atlantic
  • The Man, 1978, A & M Rec; with Richard Tee; Produced, Orchestrated and Conducted by Paul Riser; Executive Producer by Herb Albert
  • Tall, Dark & Handsome, 1979, A & M Rec;
  • Les Is More, 1990
  • On The Soul Side, 1994, Music Masters
  • Talkin ' Verve, 1998, Verve
  • Pump it up, in 2002, France; with Bill Evans ( Sax )
  • Jazz Legend Project, 2004, megaphone
Lexington (Kentucky) Jazz-Piano Singing Gospel music Carlos Santana Integrated Authority File
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