Les McCann Dead or Alive : Where is Les McCann now?

American jazz pianist and singer Leslie McCann is renowned for his soul-jazz inventions and his 1969 version of the anti-war song “Compared to What.” Nearly 300 hip-hop artists, including A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, B.I.G., Sean Combs, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Mary J. Blige, Pharcyde, Eric B. & Rakim, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr, and Raekwon, have sampled his tracks, which are mainly from the 1990s and 2000s.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, McCann grew up in a musical family with three sisters, most of whom sang in church choirs. He was largely self-taught as a pianist and attended Los Angeles City College. At 17, he joined the U.S. Navy and won a singing contest, leading to an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. After leaving the Navy, McCann moved to California and played in his trio. The trio’s first job was at the Purple Onion Club in 1959.

Les McCann, a jazz pianist and vocalist, was an early progenitor of soul jazz, known for his earthy, uplifting approach to music. His albums, released from 1960 to 2018, influenced funk and R&B artists and became a rich vein for hip-hop artists. His greatest commercial success came by chance in June 1969 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

McCann and Eddie Harris, an Atlantic artist, played separate sets at the festival, and they gave an unscheduled performance together. Despite the pressure, McCann smoked hash before going onstage, and everything just took off. The highlight of the concert was Eugene McDaniels’s protest song “Compared to What,” which was released as a single and peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard R&B chart. “Swiss Movement” was nominated for a Grammy Award and sold a half-million copies.

McCann and Harris reconvened in 1971 for the Atlantic studio album “Second Movement,” and they performed an obligatory reprise of “Compared to What” at the 1988 festival. Their collaboration was a testament to the power of music and the influence of music on the music industry.

Les McCann Dead or Alive: Where is Les McCann now?

Les McCann, a well-known American jazz pianist and singer, has reportedly passed away. At the age of 88, Les McCann tragically passed away on December 29, 2023. Pneumonia claimed his life.

Source: DKlassgh.net