Les McCann, acclaimed jazz pianist and vocalist whose best business success got here with the 1969 track “In comparison with What”, from his album Swiss Motion, criticizing the Vietnam Battle, has died. His longtime supervisor Alan Abrahams confirmed to a number of media retailers that McCann died Friday at a hospital in Los Angeles the place he had been admitted with pneumonia. He was 88.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, McCann grew up in a musical household of 4. Largely self-taught as a pianist, McCann received a singing contest throughout his service within the U.S. Navy, which led to an look on The Ed Sullivan Present. After shifting to California together with his personal trio, he turned down a suggestion to affix Cannonball Adderley’s band in order that he might dedicate himself to his personal music.
McCann’s profession started to take off when he recorded as a pianist together with his trio for Pacific Jazz Information. His album Swiss Motion recorded with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey, contained the only “In comparison with What,” important of the Vietnam Battle in addition to the only “Chilly Duck Time.” McCann launched the album on the 1969 Montreaux Jazz Pageant. Each the album and “In comparison with What” single reached the Billboard pop charts. Composed by Eugene McDaniels, McCann launched the track as a ballad on his album Les McCann Performs the Hits. Roberta Flack additionally lined the track, which was the opening observe on her debut album First Take in 1969.
McCann later grew to become one of many innovators of soul jazz, which merged jazz with funk, soul and world rhythms. He additionally was one of many first jazz musicians to incorporate electrical piano, clavinet and synthesizer in his music.
McCann was with Atlantic Information till 1976, throughout which era he recorded 1973’s Invitation to Openness and 1974’s Layers. He later recorded profitable albums for ABC Impulse and A&M, together with 1978’s The Man, after which recorded on indies, in accordance with his bio.
He suffered a stroke in 1995 that left him partially paralyzed however he started recording once more, with Pump It Up in 2002 and A Time Les Christmas in 2018. In 2023, Resonance Information launched the archival, multi-disc By no means a Boring Second! Dwell from Coast to Coast 1966-1967, in accordance with his bio.
In 1975, McCann grew to become the primary artist in residence at Harvard College’s Studying From Performers program. Additionally an artist and prolific photographer of Black tradition, his work was collected within the 2015 e book Invitation to Openness: The Jazz & Soul Pictures of Les McCann 1960-1980.
McCann was requested in an interview for the e book’s preface how he had achieved intimacy together with his photographic topics. “I belief my instinct, you see,” he mentioned, including, “I’m higher off once I simply do what I do on the piano: play.”
