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

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
CD1
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)

CD2
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)