Les McCANN & Eddie HARRIS - Swiss Movement 1969

Les McCANN & Eddie HARRIS - Swiss Movement 1969
Label: Atlantic / Wea

Jazz

I first heard this disk when I was 15, and it knocked me out. The lead tune, "Compared to What" was the funky breakout, crossover hit that most people know, but to my mind the greatest tune on this album is Harris' "Kathleen's Tune". This is a bop tune with a catchy head that Harris works through in every possible variation, starting out with a simple diatonic restaement, and moving more and more outside until he's playing nothing *but* outside notes. It took my breath away when I first heard it, and still does.
The rest of the album may not his the same heights as "Kathleen's Tune" or "Compared to What" but it's still all great. Benny Bailey's solos make you wonder where he'd been hiding before this album came out (Sweden, as it turned out). "You Got It In Your Soulness" is another Les McCann gospel-influenced tune that makes you wnat to dance. And so on.
I've gone through three copies of this album over the years (LP, CD and now remastered CD), and played it for scores of jazz neophytes, most recently my 10 year old nephew- and he dug it. You will, too.
By Michael J Edelman.
**
This memorable impromptu session arose at the 1969 Montreux festival when tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey joined Les McCann's working trio. McCann's regular rhythm section of Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Donald Dean on drums provides rock-solid support for some strongly felt and entertaining music. Harris's light-toned but expressive horn shines on his own "Cold Duck Soup" and McCann's "Kathleen's Theme," while the whole band rocks on "You Got It in Your Soulness." McCann's elemental voice and piano gives new life to the soul classic "Compared to What," while the underrated Bailey, more frequently heard in mainstream jazz settings, brings a brassy soulfulness of his own to the proceedings.
By Stuart Broomer. AMG.
**
One of the most popular soul-jazz albums of all time, and one of the best, although Harris (and trumpeter Benny Bailey) had never played or rehearsed with the Les McCann Trio before, and indeed wasn't even given the music. Perhaps that sparked the spontaneous funk that comes through clearly on the tape of this show, recorded at the Montreux Festival in 1969. It's actually much more of a showcase for McCann than Harris, although the tenor saxist's contributions are significant. The sole vocal, a version of Gene McDaniels' "Compared to What," remains McCann's signature tune. It's worth picking up Rhino's Montreux 30th Anniversary Edition, as it adds a nine-minute bonus track ("Kaftan") and historical liner notes.
By Richie Unterberger. AMG.
**
01. Compared To What (8:55)
02. Cold Duck Time (7:09)
03. Kathleen's Theme (6:15)
04. You Got It In Your Soulness (7:34)
05. The Generation Gap (9:12)
06. Kaftan (8:43)
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