Les McCann - In San Francisco · Recorded Live At The Jazz Workshop (Complete Recordings)

2012

The experiences of singing sacred music in church and listening to modern jazz in clubs were blended to produce in pianist Les McCanns style a reflection of these seemingly contradictory influences.

As the critic Leonard Feather pointed out: Aside from any polemics concerning its nature and origin, the vital factor in McCanns music is the ability of the trio to establish a jubilant rapport with the audience. Through an amalgamation of several forces the music itself, the visual impact of the trio and Les mordantly witty personality there has been a consistent ability to get across to the public.

Some of the most potent evidence of this power was gathered in these performances recorded at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, where McCann, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Ron Jefferson played for two and a half successful weeks in December 1960.