Les Miserables? Non, Les Magnifique!

Yes, Les is once again, magnificent on this OOP recording from 1964. As can often be the case with Les McCann, his music and delivery can sneak up on you or appear far too comfortable/easy to make a quick impression. But once you've paid a little attention and think a bit beyond your head boppin', toe tappin', smilin' self, you realize that this guy is just so much fun and so sensitive to the emotions of music. Through his  piano and his voice (though he does no singing on this album) he connects as only the truest of soulful musicians can do. Since the album details, including the entire liner notes from the back cover, were available on line, I've included all the details below and I probably don't need to say much else here. But I will add a few thoughts on this generally scarce LP. Side one opens with a compelling "Could Be" that delivers a variety of moods nicely while "Stragler" & "Restin' In Jail" lead smoothly into an inspiring exercise to end the side with "Bailor the Wailer". This track impresses with Les' agile keyboard work and playful feel. Side two starts off with a tender tune, "Maleah", which includes a nice acoustic guitar solo/interlude from Dennis Budimir. Dennis is otherwise generally in the background on the album, to my disappointment, put this is his showcase for the date and you can hear him pop up momentarily here and there on a few other cuts. "Lot of Living To Do" is a Broadway tune (Bye Bye Birdie) which Les really puts his stamp on nicely, delivering a spirited bit of fun along with the album's only drum solo, a crisp complement to McCann's piano work, crafted by the accomplished Paul Humphrey. "Kathleen's Theme" is a pretty number that leads into a happy go lucky "Gus Gus". All in all, another keeper from the man McCann. The Gerald Wilson Orchestra certainly does a tasteful job, ably supporting Les' trio with tasteful strings and some great brass accents throughout. It's a very natural combination. This was released in 1965 and doesn't seem to be available, except in LP format on the used market. Unfortunately my copy is a bit used as well and you can expect to notice that you are indeed listening to vinyl. I apologize for that, did remove quite a bit of the clicking but wasn't happy with what "Click Repair" was doing, so I resorted to a manual treatment which leaves some artifacts. Someone else must have a cleaner copy out there but for now, this is certainly clean enough to enjoy. In fact, once you hear Les tickle those keys...it's Magnifique!!

Magnificent


Les McCann & The Gerald Wilson Orchestra - McCann / Wilson (1964)

Released: 1965 on Pacific Jazz # PJ-91 / ST-91 (LP)

Also: on Fontana # 688-150 [U.K.] (LP): The Wailers

Side 1 - 15:40

        Could Be (Les McCann) - 6:06
        Stragler (Les McCann) - 2:36
        Restin' In Jail (Les McCann) - 3:53
        Baylor The Wailer (Les McCann) - 3:05

Side 2 - 15:10

        Maleah (Les McCann) - 4:00
        Lot Of Living To Do (Charles Strouse/Lee Adams) - 4:58
        Kathleen's Theme (Les McCann) - 2:58
        Gus Gus (Les McCann) - 3:14

Total - 30:50

Recorded: Late 1964 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA

Musicians:
    Les McCann (piano)
    Victor Gaskin (bass)
    Paul Humphrey (drums)
    The Gerald Wilson Orchestra, featuring:
    Dennis Budimir (guitar)
    Teddy Edwards (tenor sax)
    Gerald Wilson (conductor)

Credits:
    Richard Bock (producer, audio)
    Woody Woodward (album design, photography)
    Thomas Knitch (cover artist)
    Les Carter (liner notes)

Liner Notes:

    This collaboration between LES McCANN and GERALD WILSON is a natural one and I think this album represents a highlight in Les' recording career. Les' playing here, as always, is positive and extroverted and is showcased wonderfully against the backdrop of Gerald's exciting band.

    It occurred to me one night, several months ago, while I was watching Gerald Wilson and his orchestra during one of their engagements at The Lighthouse, that if Gerald had chosen the media of motion pictures to express himself rather than music, he would surely have become a great director in the tradition of Kramer, Preminger, or Stevens.

    It should be known that I made this seemingly disjointed evaluation of Gerald during my seventh Cutty Sark at The Lighthouse. Often when I make such statements in this frame of mind they don't make a great deal of sense to me the following morning but the comparison between Gerald Wilson and great motion picture directors still seems valid to me.

    A director must do many things well. The director assembles the cast, brings his ideas to a script that has been selected, and uses his artistic judgements with the script and the actors to best achieve the results he wants. When the product is ready for the public it has been the director who is most responsible for its success or failure.

    Similarly, Gerald does all things well. He is a craftsman in every way. He hand-picks the musicians carefully (a glimpse at the personnel listing on this album will assure you that Gerald hasn't settled for second best), he selects the material (most of which he composes and arranges), and then he bolsters the band and the audience with his own enthusiasm and exuberance. Gerald is a total musician. He touches all bases, and like a good director he is the man in charge.

    Although Gerald has paid his dues for many years, his reputation has become more widely known in the past few years. He played in the trumpet section of the great bands of Lunceford, Basie, Ellington, and Gillespie, arranged and composed, for all of these bands, and led his own successful big band in the 40's, but even with his great success he left it all behind to continue studying music. His self-imposed exile was ended when he formed a big band that was recorded by Pacific Jazz and released in 1961. ("YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT" PJ-34). Many were able to hear this exciting, fresh band for the first time.

    Gerald's success has spread almost entirely word of mouth. Because of the economics of traveling across the country with a big band, Gerald's dates have been almost entirely restricted to California. Yet the news of Gerald's music spread rapidly after his first release and he soon became a best-selling artist in areas that had never seen him. Also Gerald has not had the television exposure that some of the older big bands have enjoyed, but a glance at the jazz polls shows him right at the top along with Basie, Ellington, and Herman (and with a sound that is the most modern of the big bands).

    Watching Gerald's orchestra in performance is always a great pleasure for me because I'm watching a man who clearly enjoys what he's doing and loves his work. He seems to enjoy the musicians in his band as much as the audience and when one takes an excellent solo, Gerald sometimes leads the applause.

    The one characteristic that Gerald has that makes him a rarity in jazz these days is his ability to communicate with an audience. It's this very characteristic that he has in common with the man he shared this record with.

    The success of Les McCann began as almost an underground movement. Les enjoyed a small but devoted following in Southern California and when his debut album was released on Pacific Jazz ("THE TRUTH" PJ-2) the support was just as loyal but the cult grew in numbers. His first album was an immediate success and Les has built a record of success that is almost unequalled among jazz musicians today.

    An aspect of Les McCann that has often been overlooked is his compositional abilities. Les is the composer of all but one of the selections in this album.

    "Bailor The Wailer" is an especially exuberant composition and performance. Les dedicates this to Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers (who might be described as a hard-bop basketball player). And there's the beautiful "Kathleen's Theme" (arranged and conducted by Jimmie Haskell). "Could Be" has a good Basie feeling to it.

    The arrangements with the big band on this album are by Gerald Wilson based on ideas by Les McCann.

    Les is another man who is well known for doing many things well. This album is a testimony to his writing ability and his playing. It also showcases his regular trio (Victor Gaskin on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums) one of the most successful groups in jazz and constantly in demand around the world.

    Like the two personalities involved in this record, "McCANN / WILSON" shouts with enthusiasm and exuberance. No hard sell is needed to convince you that you've just made an excellent choice in picking up this album. The names LES McCANN and GERALD WILSON speak for themselves. Listen.
-- Les Carter
    KBCA Radio, Los Angeles

If Anyone Can Sing, Les Mc Can

Since the inception of this sporadic blog of mine, I've advertized my desire to track down one of the early albums by Les McCann called simply, "Les McCann Sings". I believe my familiarity with this recording came from an old 8-track I had of it back in my college years in the 70's. Some of the beautifully rendered ballads on this album provided just the right sort of fodder for those heart broken moments of my early relationships. I can remember sitting in the stairwell of the Computer Center on the Storrs campus at UCONN just singing a couple of those songs inspired by Les McCann's easy vocals and gentle piano playing. I can still hear my voice echoing up that stairwell into the emptiness of late nights waiting for my computer programming cards to finish running in the busy room outside the stairwell. I'd listen for any signs of life so I could quickly shut up to avoid any embarrassment with passers by. McCann's timing is so true and real, his delivery so perfect yet relaxed and comforting. So I wanted to recapture these tracks, so long OOP except for a few cuts on the later collection called "More or Les McCann" released much later (and also OOP). And out of nowhere came Rick with a friendly offer to deliver the tracks in their entirety so I could enjoy them fully once again and share them with you here. This is the kind of thing that makes a blog like this of value to me. Making priceless music available to the discerning listener when it is otherwise dead to the commercial world. I'm very happy to be able to post this beautiful work that ranges from Les' soulful side to his most melancholy. Not entirely different from most of his usual fine work, but perhaps one of the more elemental examples of Les' rare talent that bridges so many feelings and colors. Never a show off, just a man to capture emotions and deliver them to your ears and to wherever you want them to go. I've said too much. Just enjoy it and remember to thank Rick!

Les Sings

Les McCann - "Les McCann Sings" (1961)
Pacific Jazz # PJ-31 / ST-31 (LP) 

1.  Wonder Why (Nicholas Brodsky/Sammy Cahn) 2:58  
2.  It's Way Past Suppertime (Les McCann/Vicki Arnold) 3:06  
3.  'Deed I Do (Walter Hirsch/Fred Rose) 2:54  
4.  Since I Fell For You (Buddy Johnson) 3:37  
5.  But Not For Me (Ira Gershwin/George Gershwin) 2:58  
6.  I Cried For You (Gus Arnheim/Abe Lyman/Arthur Freed) 2:24

(side 2)

7.  Sweet Georgia Brown (Kenneth Casey/Ben Bernie/Macio Pinkard) 2:27 
8.  Please Send Me Someone To Love (Percy Mayfield) 2:32
9.  Next Spring (Marvin Jenkins) 3:21 
10.Love Letters (Edward Heyman/Victor Young) 3:16 
11.On The Street Where You Live (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe) 3:10
12.Bye Bye Black Bird (Ray Henderson/Mort Dixon) 2:07

Aug. 1961 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA (except track 9)
Mar. 1961 at Pacific Jazz Studios, Hollywood, CA (track 9)

Les McCann (piano, vocals)
Herbie Lewis (bass)
Ron Jefferson (drums)

Gerald Wilson (conductor, arranger) (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 & 10)



(tracks 1, 4, 6 & 8)
Harold Land, Teddy Edwards, Buddy Collette, Jack Nimitz, Charles Lloyd (reeds) Jimmy Zito, John Audino, Ray Triscari, Charlie Meeks, Bob Edmondson, John Ewing, and Kenny Shroyer (brass)

(tracks 2, 5 & 10)
Dolo Coker (rhythm piano) Jerome Reisler, Dan Lube, Carl Kalash, Darrel Terwilliger, Myron Sandler, Bobby Bruce, Edger Lustgarden, George Poole, Charles Gates (strings) (track 9) Richard "Groove" Holmes (organ) Ben Webster (tenor sax) Lawrence "Tricky" Lofton (trombone)

Richard Bock (producer, audio engineering)
Woody Woodward (cover design, back photos)
Chester Maydole (cover photo)
Vicki Arnold (liner notes)

More or Les....One of my favorites...

Well Christmas is on its way out again and I've been remiss with inactivity. I may find a holiday oriented post to make before the New Year celebrations close the door on the season, but I'm more excited about the album at hand, Les McCann's, "More or Les McCann". When I was enjoying my four years at UCONN in Storrs, CT I had among my collection of 8-track jazz and blues, this very same recording. It was not something that was a natural draw to me at first. It's generally quite mainstream stuff, along the lines of Ramsey Lewis' piano trio work with the upbeat pop appeal liberally applied. But somewhere around 1975-76 I was prolifically dumped by my long standing girlfriend and woe and behold, I became pretty obsessed with all things sentimental, which not so surprisingly seemed to coincide with the beginnings of my now much longer standing friendship with all things beer. So during this pathetic period of mine I became unusually captivated by the likes of Bozz Scaggs & Elton John of the pop world (e.g. "Harbor Lights", "Your Song", etc.) and all the typical sentiment that kids my age tuned into on our radio dials in those days. But with my growing passion for jazz and blues I thankfully made friends with this beautiful recording by Les McCann. The entire album is what you might say is fairly typical McCann. Tremendously soulful piano with a perfectly tuned in battery. I always love the comfortable, natural feel of Les' playing. Relatively simple perhaps, but so effective, so satisfyingly easy and joyful. But this particular album caught me most with the few vocal offerings that fit my mood so well during that emotional time that brought with it so many personal changes. Three songs, "Since I Fell For You", "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and "It's Way Past Supper Time" are the three vocal tracks here and each really showcases McCann's indisputable talent and artistic splendor. The songs are of some renown, but they are as good as any other version I've heard in each case. Probably my own personal favorite rendition of each. Again, Les is supremely relaxed and delivers the song like someone just singing to himself. You feel like your just eavesdropping from the shadows and lucky enough to catch the feelings as they ease out of his fingers and mouth. The other element to this album is that there is an addition of orchestrations from Gerald Wilson. Now this album seems to be fairly obscure. Not impossible to find on vinyl, as I recently did, but information on this recording is a bit scant. The gatefold cover itself doesn't offer a reference date of any kind, nor does the vinyl or labels. I always find that to be odd. AllMusic puts the release date at 1967 but other references have it as 1969. It sounds a bit more like 1969 to me but then I also think this is essentially a remix of earlier recordings which had been reconstructed with the addition of Mr. Wilson's orchestra. I know that two of the vocals here were also on the album "Les McCann Sings" from 1961, although I'm not sure it offers the same exact Les tracks. So from the vague liner notes it seems that this album is just dressing up a collection of previous releases, and for the most part I like the results even though I'm not sure I've ever heard the leaner originals. Arguably there are spots where the "dressing" may be a little more than is necessary, but generally it comes off tastefully and serves to accentuate the feeling that Les captures on his piano and in his vocals. The album is a continuous flow of mellow and sweet that ebbs to groovin' and swinging soul. So after so many years of searching for this painfully overdue replacement for my long since unraveled 8-track version from the 70's, I'm so glad to be able to once again listen to this timeless recording and share it here since it is nowhere to be found except OOP vinyl (trust me...). My vinyl has a couple of minor imperfections you will probably detect, but it's otherwise a decent copy to enjoy until someone chooses to re-release this little gem. Les McCann may be an acquired taste for some, but I feel my jazz sensibilities pretty much grew up with his sure handed mentoring. I think he is a much more important figure to both jazz and soul music than most people give him credit for. When it comes to Les, I will always take more...

More

Les McCann - More or Les McCann (1969)


World Pacific Jazz / ST-20166

Someone Stole My Chitlins
Since I Fell For You
Django
Falling In Love With Love

Please Send Me Someone To Love
Lavande
It's Way Past Supper Time
Narobi Nights

There are no credits listed on the album cover except a reference to bassist Herbie Lewis on the track, "Django". Otherwise, the only credit is to Gerald Wilson for orchestral arrangements and conducting.