Les McCann

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For the Australian rules footballer, see Les McCann (footballer).

Les McCann
McCann in 1980
McCann in 1980
Background information
Birth nameLeslie Coleman McCann
Born(1935-09-23)September 23, 1935
Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedDecember 29, 2023(2023-12-29) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresJazz, soul jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Piano, vocals
Years active1959–2018

Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist.[1][full citation needed] He is known for his innovations in soul jazz and his 1969 recording of the protest song "Compared to What". His music has been widely sampled in hip hop.

Early life[edit]

Leslie Coleman McCann was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on September 23, 1935.[2] He grew up in a musical family with three sisters, most of whom sang in church choirs.[3][4] His father was a fan of jazz music and his mother was known to hum opera tunes around the house.[4]

As a youth, McCann played the tuba and drums and performed in his school's marching band.[3][4] As a pianist, he was largely self-taught.[5] He explained that he received piano lessons for only a few weeks as a six-year-old before his teacher died.[3]

McCann attended Los Angeles City College, which was highly influential to his musical career.[6] At the age of 17, he joined the U.S. Navy in San Diego.[6]

Career[edit]

During his service in the Navy, McCann won a singing contest, which led to an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.[1] After leaving the Navy, McCann moved to California and played in his own trio.[5] He declined an offer to work in Cannonball Adderley's band so that he could dedicate himself to his own music.[5] The trio's first job was at the Purple Onion club in 1959 accompanying Gene McDaniels.[3]

McCann (left) with the Les McCann Trio (Herbie Lewis and Ron Jefferson), 1962

The main part of McCann's career began in the early 1960s, when he recorded as a pianist with his trio for Pacific Jazz.[7] In 1969, Atlantic released Swiss Movement, an album recorded with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey earlier at that year's Montreux Jazz Festival.[8] The album contained the song "Compared to What"; both reached the Billboard pop charts. The song, which criticized the Vietnam War, was written by Eugene McDaniels years earlier and recorded and released as a ballad by McCann in 1966 on his album, Les McCann Plays the Hits. Roberta Flack's version appeared as the opening track on her debut album First Take (1969).[9][10]

After the success of Swiss Movement, McCann, primarily a piano player, emphasized his vocals. He became an innovator in soul jazz, merging jazz with funk, soul and world rhythms. His music was influential for its use of electric piano, clavinet and synthesizer.[11]

In 1971, McCann and Harris were part of a group of soul, R&B and rock performers–including Wilson Pickett, the Staple Singers, Santana and Ike & Tina Turner–who flew to Accra, Ghana, to perform a 14-hour concert for more than 100,000 Ghanaians. The March 6 concert was recorded for the documentary film Soul to Soul.[12] In 2004, the movie was released on DVD with an accompanying soundtrack album.[13]

McCann had a stroke in the mid-1990s,[7] but he returned to music in 2002, when Pump it Up was released, and continued to release music until 2018.[11] He also exhibited his work as a painter and photographer.[1]

Death[edit]

McCann died from pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital on December 29, 2023, at age 88.[6]

Legacy[edit]

McCann's recordings have been widely sampled in hip hop music, mostly in the 1990s and 2000s, by nearly 300 acts.[11][14] These include A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, the Notorious B.I.G., Sean Combs, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Mary J. Blige, the Pharcyde, Eric B. & Rakim, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr and Raekwon.[11][15]

Discography[edit]

Source:[16][better source needed]

As leader[edit]

As sideman[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Feather, Leonard; Ira Gitler (2007). "?". The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 448. ISBN 9780199729074. OCLC 1252916779.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1548. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  3. ^ a b c d Feather, Leonard (1986). The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties. New York: Da Capo. p. 206. ISBN 0-306-80263-5.
  4. ^ a b c McMullan, Jim (1994). Musicians as artists. Internet Archive. Boston : Journey Editions. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-1-885203-06-9.
  5. ^ a b c Mathieson, Kenny (November 26, 2013). "McCann, Les(lie Coleman)". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2242229. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Romero, Dennis; Antonshchuk, Valeriya (January 1, 2024). "'Compared to What' performer Les McCann, a wellspring for hip-hop samples, dies at 88". NBC News. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "Les McCann". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  8. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Swiss Movement". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Les McCann, innovative jazz musician best known for 'Compared to What,' dies at 88". ABC News. Associated Press. January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Chinen, Nate (January 2, 2024). "Les McCann, jazz pianist with a soulful holler, dies at 88". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Henkin, Andrey (January 1, 2024). "Les McCann, Pianist, Singer and Soul Jazz Pioneer, Dies at 88". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Aswad, Jen (January 1, 2024). "Les McCann, Legendary Jazz Pianist Sampled by Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg, Dies at 88". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  13. ^ "Various Artisrts – Soul to Soul [DVD & CD]". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Pearce, Matt (January 1, 2024). "L.A. jazz pianist and 'Compared to What' singer Les McCann dies at 88". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  15. ^ Corcoran, Nina (January 1, 2024). "Les McCann, Soul Jazz Pianist and Singer, Dies at 88". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Les McCann". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2024.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les McCann.
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