Les McCann Ltd. - Plays the Truth

Born in Lexington, KY, in 1935, pianist Leslie Coleman McCann settled in Los Angeles in 1956. He emerged from obscurity after cutting 'The Truth' his first trio record, in February 1960, in which the walking bass of Leroy Vinnegar and direct swing of drummer Ron Jefferson were the perfect esthetic compliment to McCanns music.

During the next few years he was the focus of widespread controversy as an exponent of a brand of piano jazz variously called Gospel, funk, soul, blues, back-to-the-roots, etc. While McCann acknowledged that almost all his relatives had sung in the church choir in Lexington, he said his music was a product of his early environment and no gimmick. The way we play just fitted together as soon as Leroy and Ron and I first got together. We just started playing together, and it all made sense.

This release also includes two rare tracks by the original trio, only issued on a Pacific Jazz single, plus a complete session recorded that same year, with bassist Herbie Lewis who replaced Vinnegar that summer and featuring two newcomers, vibist Bobby Hutcherson and tenor Curtis Amy.

Tracks #1-8, from the Pacific Jazz LP "Les McCann Plays the Truth" (PJ-2)
Tracks #9 & 10, from the Pacific Jazz single X-310
Tracks #11-13, from the Pacific Jazz LP "Les McCann-A bag of Gold" (ST-20107)
Tracks #14 & 15, from the Pacific Jazz anthology "This is the Blues" (PJ-13)

Personnel in all tracks:

Les McCann (piano), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Herbie Lewis (bass on #11-13), Ron Jefferson (drums). Guest: Bobby Hutcherson (vibes, added on #14-15), and Curtis Amy (tenor sax, added on #15).
Tracks #1-8 recorded at United Recording Studios, Hollywood, February 4, 1960
Tracks #9 & 10 recorded at Rex Productions, Hollywood, April 28, 1960
Tracks #11-15 same location, but August 3, 1960