LES McCANN
Les Is More (Hyena Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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When Joel Dorn started Night Records, a label dedicated to releasing unheard live performances by jazz artists, one of the first calls he got was from Les McCann, who had worked with Dorn at Atlantic records. McCann had been recording both his own performances and those of others he admired for years, and he made the entire stash of tapes available to Dorn. The result was this album, one of the four that Night Records released before Dorn turned to other ventures.

The music here includes McCann in a variety of settings, with performances of a pair of his best known songs, "With These Hands" and "Compared To What," with a variety of sidemen, including a cut of one of his rare performances with saxophonist Eddie Harris, his accomplice on the classic Swiss Movement album. In addition, there's a sampling of the other artists McCann got on tape over the years, including performances by his discovery, Roberta Flack, along with Stanley Turrentine, Cannonball Adderley and Carmen McRae. Altogether, it's a superior collection of live performances by a superior collection of jazz artists, reissued on Dorn's new Hyena Records label.

Track List:

Maleah * With These Hands * Samia (w/Eddie Harris) * All The Way (Roberta Flack) * Les By Night (medley): Unidentified Blues (Stanley Turrentine)/Somewhere/Oh Babe (Cannonball Adderley)/Satin Doll (Carmen McRae) * Little Blue Volkswagen * Clapformation * Bird Story * Compared To What

© 2002 - Shaun Dale