LES McCANN,
1935-2023

Les McCann, the jazz pianist-singer whose “Compared to What” helped usher in the soul-jazz movement, died Friday (12/29) in Van Nuys. He was 88.

He had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia.

McCann got his start in Bay Area clubs while stationed in San Francisco with the Navy. He moved to Los Angeles after his discharge and signed with Pacific Jazz Records in 1960, leading a trio and backing musicians such as Lou Rawls. He moved to Mercury’s Limelight—run by Quincy Jones—and made six albums before signing with Atlantic in 1968.

While making his debut at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in June 1969, McCann was paired with labelmate Eddie Harris on saxophone. They gave an unscheduled, unrehearsed performance. Their eight-minute version of Eugene McDaniels’ “Compared to What” was issued as a single and hit #35 on the R&B chart; the album it was featured on, Swiss Movement, sold a half-million copies and went Top 30 Pop and hit #1 on the jazz chart. McCann and McDaniels followed that up with a 1971 studio effort, Second Movement.

In the 1970s McCann was at the forefront of pianists switching to electric keyboards and synthesizers. His albums eventually emphasized pop vocals instead of jazz. He returned to playing acoustic piano in the late 1980s until a stroke in 1994 limited him to singing. After recovering, he returned to playing piano, appearing on records and touring.

McCann’s music has been sampled hundreds of times. The list includes “Sometimes I Cry” on Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” and “Shorty Rides Again” as well as Eric B. & Rakim’s “Hypnotic”; A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, Nas and Snoop Dogg are among the other artists who've used his recordings.