Edited by Deepali Verma
The iconic jazz pianist, Les McCann, renowned for his protest song ‘Compared to What’, passed away on December 29 at a hospital in Los Angeles, as per his manager. He was 88 years old and had to undergo hospitalisation last week due to pneumonia. Although no cause of death has yet been reported, as per Variety.
McCann’s work involved a combination of jazz and R&B which laid the foundation for numerous early hip-hop hits, such as ’10 Crack Commandments’ by the Notorious B.I.G., ‘After Hours’ by A Tribe Called Quest, ‘The Next Episode’ by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, ‘Pet Rock and C.L. Smooth’, and many more.
McCann was born and raised in a musical family in Lexington, Kentucky in 1935. He plays tuba, drums and piano but claims to have only had a few weeks of piano instruction as a child. Notably, he has also participated in a singing competition while serving in the United States Navy, and the result was a 1956 performance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ the most-watched show on television at the time.
Once released from the Army, he moved to Los Angeles and started a trio there, turning down an offer to play with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. He suffered a stroke in the 1990s that limited his ability to play the keyboard, as per Variety.
Throughout his entire career, McCann published over 60 albums; the most recent being a reissue of his CD ‘Never a Dull Moment! Coast to Coast Live 1966-67.’
Quincy Jones, American record producer, wrote in its liner notes, “Les McCann has been a musical force of nature since he arrived on the scene in the early 60s. Whenever I heard him live or on record, he always delivered on the unexpected.”
Roberta Flack, who was a longtime friend of McCann’s, added, “Les and I had met each other in the musical world of the tumultuous ’60s. Les listened deeply to what I was saying and his recommendation of me to Atlantic Records was a pivotal moment in my career. He is a giant in my world of music, a limitless creator, inspiration and a dear friend.”
