Never a Dull Moment by Les McCann
Since debuting as a band leader in 1960, Les McCann became one of jazz’s most prolific artists, both as a performer and recording artist. With Never a Dull Moment! the pianist can enter another paragraph to his resume.
The previously unreleased live material, recorded in 1966 and ’67 in New York and Seattle, shows McCann as an entertainer as well as a serious exponent of jazz piano. He programmed his sets for contrast and variety, the upbeat alternating with the balladic, displaying his range along the way. With “Blue’n’Boogie,” he refined the music’s barrelhouse origins, polishing it to a bright gleam. “Could Be” and “Yours is My Heart Alone” are impressionistic, Debussy via Duke Ellington. “Wait for It” is a Black spiritual melody delivered lively yet low key. The dynamic soul jazz of “The Shampoo” lowered the boundaries between the already separated worlds of jazz and R&B. Through every track, McCann performed with a sense of joyful engagement.
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