Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and singer. He is known for creating new ideas in soul jazz and for recording the protest song "Compared to What" in 1969. His music has been used by many hip hop artists.

Early life

Leslie Coleman McCann was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on September 23, 1935. He had four brothers and one sister. Many of them sang in church choirs. His father enjoyed jazz music, and his mother often hummed opera songs at home.

As a young man, he played the tuba and drums. He also performed in his school's marching band. He taught himself to play the piano. He said he took piano lessons for only a few weeks when he was six years old. His teacher passed away after that.

McCann went to Los Angeles City College. This school was very important for his music career. When he was 17, he joined the U.S. Navy in San Diego.

Career

During his time in the Navy, McCann won a singing contest, which led to a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. After leaving the Navy, McCann moved to California and played in his own trio. He chose not to accept a job in Cannonball Adderley's band so he could focus on his own music. The trio's first job was at the Purple Onion club in 1959, where they accompanied Gene McDaniels.

The main part of McCann's career began in the early 1960s, when he recorded as a pianist with his trio for Pacific Jazz. In 1969, Atlantic Records released Swiss Movement, an album recorded with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey during that year's Montreux Jazz Festival. The album included the song "Compared to What," which criticized the Vietnam War. The song was written by Eugene McDaniels years earlier and first recorded by McCann in 1966 on his album Les McCann Plays the Hits. Roberta Flack later recorded the song as the opening track on her debut album First Take (1969).

After the success of Swiss Movement, McCann, who was mainly a pianist, began focusing more on his singing. He became known for blending jazz with funk, soul, and world rhythms, creating a style called soul jazz. His music was notable for using electric piano, clavinet, and synthesizer.

In 1971, McCann and Harris joined a group of soul, R&B, and rock performers—including Wilson Pickett, the Staple Singers, Santana, and Ike & Tina Turner—to perform a 14-hour concert in Accra, Ghana, for more than 100,000 people. The March 6 concert was recorded for the documentary film Soul to Soul. In 2004, the film was released on DVD with a soundtrack album.

McCann had a stroke in the mid-1990s but returned to music in 2002 with the release of Pump it Up. He continued making music until 2018. He also created art as a painter and photographer.

Legacy

McCann's music has been used in many hip hop songs, especially during the 1990s and 2000s, by almost 300 artists. Some of these artists include A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, De La Soul, the Notorious B.I.G., Sean Combs, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Mary J. Blige, the Pharcyde, Eric B. & Rakim, Mobb Deep, Gang Starr, and Raekwon.