Les McCann Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard (2017) [Hi-Res]

An early musical success for McCann was his winning of a Navy talent contest for singing; this led to an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. His main career began in the early 1960s when he recorded as a pianist with his trio for Pacific Jazz Records.

In 1969, Atlantic Records released Swiss Movement, a recording of McCann with frequent collaborator, saxophonist Eddie Harris, and guest trumpeter Benny Bailey at that year’s Montreux Jazz Festival. The album contained the song “Compared to What”, and both the album and the single were huge Billboard pop chart successes. «Compared to What» featured political criticism of the Vietnam War. The song was not written by McCann; fellow Atlantic composer/singer Eugene McDaniels wrote it years earlier. «Compared to What» was initially recorded and released as a ballad by Les McCann in 1967 on his Les McCann Play The Hits, issued on the Limelight label.

After the success of Swiss Movement, McCann – primarily a piano player – began to emphasize his rough-hewn vocals more. He became an innovator in the soul jazz style, merging jazz with funk, soul and world rhythms; much of his early 1970s music prefigures the Stevie Wonder albums of that decade. He was among the first jazz musicians to include electric piano, clavinet, and synthesizer in his music.

Recorded in stereo at New York’s famous Village Vanguard on July 16, 1967, this is a remarkable album from this great pianist whose style is rooted in jazz, blues, funk, and R&B. This is one of Les McCann’s last recordings in the jazz style before he turned to a more commercial R&B & singing career.

Les McCann reached the peak of his career at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival, recording "Compared to What" and "Cold Duck Time" for Atlantic (Swiss Movement) with Eddie Harris and Benny Bailey.

McCann first gained some fame in 1956 when he won a talent contest in the Navy as a singer that resulted in an appearance on television on The Ed Sullivan Show. After being discharged, he formed a trio in Los Angeles. McCann turned down an invitation to join the Cannonball Adderley Quintet so he could work on his own music. He signed a contract with Pacific Jazz and in 1960 gained some fame with his albums Les McCann Plays the Truth and The Shout. His soulful, funk style on piano was influential and McCann's singing was largely secondary until the mid-'60s. He recorded many albums for Pacific Jazz during 1960-1964, mostly with his trio but also featuring Ben Webster, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Blue Mitchell, Stanley Turrentine, Joe Pass, the Jazz Crusaders, and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra.

After the success of Swiss Movement, McCann emphasized his singing at the expense of his playing and he began to utilize electric keyboards.

The Les McCann Trio:
Les McCann, piano
Leroy Vinnegar, double bass
Frank Severin, drums