Customer Reviews

Much Les

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4 star:		(3)
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Les Mccann is a really under-rated jazz artist from the 60s. He plays a very soulful piano.

Much Les features some driving riffs and great backing rhythm. The music on here is very accessible, even to non-jazz-heads.

This CD reissue even features With These Hands, which has Les singing, which is a nice change of pace. It makes you wish he did an entire album with vocals since he pulls it off nicely.

This is definitely good soulful piano-trio jazz. Very recommended.

In the true spirit of his era, Les McCann truly did his own thing. He did fusion, but it sounded nothing like Miles Davis. He did soul jazz, but it sounded nothing like Grant Green or Jimmy Smith.

Now forget all that because genre labels didn't matter in the 1960s for true music heads, and you know what, that is just as true in 2010. I only made the comparisons to show McCann was a real maverick, and that is evident on Much Les

When the album starts with a tropical breeze orchestral suite, "Doin' That Thing," you hear McCann's unique blends. When he goes into deep soul "With These Hands," you know he was hip to cutting edges of music, '69, and Much Les continues with this wonderful cross pollenating throughout

One reviewer of Much Les said here he thought McCann underrated and I agree. I have never listened to anything by Les I was not extremely impressed by, and if you want accounting as to why he does not have jazz instant name recognition, I would attribute this to his subtlety. McCann did seamless mixes of great music that were more about layers and textures softly emerging than they were the shouts of Coltrane or the bold electric steps of Miles.

Much Les does not have any bold 1960s strokes to blow you first listen out of the water, but for invention and fresh angles on soul and jazz, not soul jazz, McCann will be a sleeper surprise who will wake you up for a long long time

If you ever hear this fellow North Carolinian sing a ballad, THIS is the one you must hear and own. "With These Hands" is both heartfelt and powerful, in an almost crescendo style, but it end with the softness it began with. Every wedding should contain this tender ballad before the vows are given, I promise the divorce rate will drop by 90%! This is also a treat because "Love for Sale" is a bluesy-style tune, quite different from it more almost MOR treatment heard so often. My third "gem" is "Benjamin" which turns out to be a beautiful soul inspired melody. This is one that will probably "fade away" due to it's genre of McCann's sometimes R&B, jazz or social funk...being more of the former. Still get it, and you'll cherish it..if not the gorgeous "With These Hands" cut.

NEW CD FOR THE PRICE OF A USED ONE. CD WAS AS STATED. GREAT MUSIC. 5 STARS.