Les McCann - Never A Dull Moment! (Live From Coast To Coast (1966-1967)) '2023

Tracks list

By the time Les McCann released "Compared to What" -- the classic vocal track
from the live Swiss Movement with Eddie Harris -- the pianist was already a
dozen albums into his career. Before that, he cut hip little piano trio records
live and in studios with killer rhythm sections using a unique meld of blues,
gospel, hard bop, and soul in an approach that made him one of the more iconic
live jazz performers during the '60s and '70s. The appearance of this multi-disc
set from Resonance, co-produced by Zev Feldman and George Klabin, highlights
that early period.
Never a Dull Moment! hosts 21 previously unreleased instrumental selections. The
first 13 were recorded during performances at Seattle's The Penthouse in early
1966. The final eight were drawn from a July 1967 gig at New York's Village
Vanguard. McCann's rhythm sections -- in Seattle bassist Stanley Gilbert and
either Paul Humphrey or Tony Bazley on drums; in New York, bassist Leroy
Vinnegar and drummer Victor Gaskin -- were swinging and attentive.
McCann played on-stage with no holds barred. His punchy, driving opener "Blue
'N' Boogie" offers a hard bop intro before riding square into gospel and R&B and
coming out the other side. He reveals the tender dimension of his musical
persona in the nine-plus-minute ballad "Yours Is My Heart Alone," as he slowly
examines the melody and expands the harmony. By the end, he's inspired to strum
chords harp-like, on the inside of the piano. His first hit single, 1963's "The
Shampoo," is reprised with a regal gospel piano intro summoning the crowd before
seamlessly evolving into funky blues and soul with fleet ostinati rising above
fat, punchy chords. His explosive read of "This Could Be the Start of Something
Big" adds frenetic bebop to funk, blues, and soul-jazz before sandwiching a
wildly original read of "A Night in Tunisia" between his bumping, danceable
originals "Out in the Outhouse" and "Da-Da."
The final seven tunes from The Vanguard sound slightly more refined. "Love for
Sale" has a subtle Latin groove, while 17 minutes of the set are claimed by the
joyously rendered, testifying soul-jazz of "I Can Dig It," followed by the
mambo/rhumba rhythms in "Doin That Thing." "Goin' Out of My Head" is a prime
opportunity for the band to expose the tune's jazz heart, and Bobby Hebb's
"Sunny" opens almost glacially, with droning flamenco-tinged modal overtones
preceding only a slightly accelerated tempo as its melody unfolds in phrases
rather than completed lines; in effect, it completely reinvents the pop song in
the jazz vernacular.
Never a Dull Moment! Live from Coast to Coast 1966-1967 sounds excellent. Like
most Resonance packages, it is handsomely adorned with a colorful booklet
containing essays, commentary by colleagues, and killer photos. While the
Atlantic recordings are McCann's most popular, the Pacific Jazz and Limelight
eras along with live gigs established his reputation. That makes this part of
the 21st century prime for reappraisal of the artist's complete body of work.

© Thom Jurek

Tracklist:
1-1. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - Blue 'N Boogie (Recorded Live
at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27, 1966) (05:29)
1-2. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - Could Be (Recorded Live at the
Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27, 1966) (06:55)
1-3. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - The Grabber (Recorded Live at
the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27, 1966) (04:07)
1-4. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - Yours Is My Heart Alone
(Recorded Live at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27, 1966) (09:15)
1-5. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - The Shampoo (Recorded Live at
the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27, 1966) (05:32)
1-6. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - Wait for It... (Recorded Live
at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27, 1966) (06:40)
1-7. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - This Could Be the Start of
Something Big (Recorded Live at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on January 27,
1966) (03:36)
1-8. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - Out in the Outhouse (Recorded
Live at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on February 03, 1966) (05:43)
1-9. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - A Night in Tunisia (Recorded
Live at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on February 03, 1966) (06:19)
1-10. Les Mccann, Paul Humphrey, Stanley Gilbert - Da-Da (Recorded Live at the
Penthouse in Seattle, WA on February 03, 1966) (04:49)
2-1. Les Mccann, Stanley Gilbert, Tony Bazley - Lavande (Recorded Live at the
Penthouse in Seattle, WA on February 10, 1966) (07:24)
2-2. Les Mccann, Stanley Gilbert, Tony Bazley - There Will Never Be Another You
(Recorded Live at the Penthouse in Seattle, WA on February 10, 1966) (07:22)
2-3. Les Mccann - (Back Home Again In) Indiana (Recorded Live at The Penthouse,
Seattle on August 15, 1963) (07:54)
2-4. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - Love for Sale (Recorded Live
at the Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (07:12)
2-5. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - I Can Dig It (Recorded Live at
the Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (08:25)
2-6. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - Doin' That Thing (Recorded
Live at the Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (08:59)
2-7. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - I Am in Love (Recorded Live at
the Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (06:09)
2-8. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - Goin' Out of My Head (Recorded
Live at the Village Vanguard, New York City, NY on July 16, 1967) (03:11)
2-9. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - Sunny (Recorded Live at the
Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (09:14)
2-10. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - Blues 5 (Recorded Live at the
Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (05:01)
2-11. Les Mccann, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Severino - The Shampoo (Recorded Live at
the Village Vanguard, New York City on July 16, 1967) (01:38)

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