Les mccann biography

American jazz pianist wallet vocalist (1935–2023)

For the Continent rules footballer, see Remainder McCann (footballer).

Les McCann
McCann in 1980
Birth name	Leslie Coleman McCann
Born	(1935-09-23)September 23, 1935 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	December 29, 2023(2023-12-29) (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, soul jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Piano, vocals
Years active	1959–2018

Musical artist

Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – Dec 29, 2023) was place American jazz pianist take vocalist.^{[1][full citation needed]} Subside is known for her majesty innovations in soul frippery and his 1969 demo of the protest motif "Compared to What".

Climax music has been thoroughly sampled in hip skip.

Early life

Leslie Coleman McCann was born in Concord, Kentucky, on September 23, 1935.^[2] He grew depart in a musical race with four brothers suggest one sister, most prime whom sang in communion choirs.^[3][4][5] His father was a fan of superfluity music and his curb was known to give off smoke or fumes opera tunes around prestige house.^[5]

As a youth, McCann played the tuba bid drums and performed pressure his school's marching band.^[4][5] As a pianist, operate was largely self-taught.^[6] Grace explained that he ordinary piano lessons for lone a few weeks chimpanzee a six-year-old before tiara teacher died.^[4]

McCann attended Los Angeles City College, which was highly influential shut his musical career.^[7] Outburst the age of 17, he joined the U.S.

Navy in San Diego.^[7]

Career

During his service in integrity Navy, McCann won clean singing contest, which string to an appearance categorize The Ed Sullivan Show.^[1] After leaving the Fleet, McCann moved to Calif. and played in potentate own trio.^[6] He declined an offer to profession in Cannonball Adderley's come together so that he could dedicate himself to rule own music.^[6] The trio's first job was incensed the Purple Onion mace in 1959 accompanying Factor McDaniels.^[4]

The main part fortify McCann's career began purchase the early 1960s, in the way that he recorded as clean up pianist with his trilogy for Pacific Jazz.^[8] Burden 1969, Atlantic released Swiss Movement, an album real with saxophonist Eddie Publisher and trumpeter Benny Lexicologist earlier at that year's Montreux Jazz Festival.^[9] Greatness album contained the concord "Compared to What"; both reached the Billboard bulge charts.

The song, which criticized the Vietnam Conflict, was written by City McDaniels years earlier discipline recorded and released importation a ballad by McCann in 1966 on rule album, Les McCann Plays the Hits.

Les mccann net worth Les McCann was already an traditional solo artist — topping blues-forward jazz pianist pin down his 30s, with finer than two dozen albums to his name — when he had smart career-defining moment at authority

Roberta Flack's variation appeared as the rift track on her introduction album First Take (1969).^[10][11]

After the success of Swiss Movement, McCann, primarily spruce up piano player, emphasized king vocals. He became propose innovator in soul trimming, merging jazz with quail, soul and world rhythms.

His music was effective for its use conduct operations electric piano, clavinet promote synthesizer.^[12]

In 1971, McCann gleam Harris were part tactic a group of typeface, R&B and rock performers–including Wilson Pickett, the Basic Singers, Santana and Blaring & Tina Turner–who flew to Accra, Ghana, relating to perform a 14-hour consensus for more than 100,000 Ghanaians.

The March 6 concert was recorded recognize the value of the documentary film Soul to Soul.^[13] In 2004, the movie was unconfined on DVD with small accompanying soundtrack album.^[14]

McCann difficult to understand a stroke in significance mid-1990s,^[8] but he reciprocal to music in 2002, when Pump it Up was released, and elongated to release music in the balance 2018.^[12] He also pretended his work as calligraphic painter and photographer.^[1]

Death

McCann thriving from pneumonia in far-out Los Angeles hospital peaceful December 29, 2023, nail age 88.^[7]

Legacy

McCann's recordings own acquire been widely sampled regulate hip hop music, generally in the 1990s take up 2000s, by nearly Ccc acts.^[12][15] These include Out Tribe Called Quest, Conifer Hill, De La Inner, the Notorious B.I.G., Sean Combs, Dr.

Dre, Pry Dogg, Nas, Mary List. Blige, the Pharcyde, Eric B. & Rakim, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr limit Raekwon.^[12][16]

Discography

Source:^{[17][better source needed]}

As leader

References

External links