Leslie “Les” McCann, an exceptional jazz pianist, composer and vocalist who discovered a young Roberta Flack, and whose own works have been sampled by countless hip-hop artists, died last Friday (Dec. 29) at the age of 88.
Born into a musical family, Sept. 23, 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky, McCann would become one of jazz music’s “most gifted and influential artists,” reads a statement from Kevin Gore, president of Global Catalog, Recorded Music for Warner Music Group.
An early hit came with “The Shampoo,” the 1963 instrumental cut with his trio for Pacific Jazz Records.
McCann would enjoy a fruitful relationship with Atlantic Records, releasing a dozen albums on the label from the late-60s through to the mid-70s.
A stroke in the 1990s slowed McCann’s output. So he channeled his energies into painting and photography, and he recovered for a string of music releases, including Pump It Up from 2002.
Gore remembers McCann as a great of jazz, the creator of “timeless” works. “While we deeply mourn his passing,” Gore continues, “his music will live on in the hearts of millions of music fans across the globe.”
