Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Les McCann: How's Your Mother?

127

Les McCann: How's Your Mother?

By

Sign in to view read count
Les McCann: How's Your Mother?
"How's Your Mother?" is a live date from 1967 that has lain in the can from then to now---not because there is anything lacking about it (quite the contrary!) but as a testament to the cornucopia of great music that was lying around everywhere in 1967, so that Trane's Interstellar Space (and around a hundred others) didn't see the light of day until the Seventies, Alfred Lion over at Blue Note was writing to Dexter Gordon that some of his most monstrously swinging music wasn't up to snuff, and Les McCann could record a magical live date like this one that would go unnoticed until blessed by the kind ministrations of Joel Dorn and 32 Jazz.

Skeptical? Just check out the ringing "Doin' That Thing," an original from bassist Leroy Vinnegar, who along with drummer Frank Severino makes up McCann's trio here. Note the power and versatility of McCann's touch, such that he can pound the keys with as much inexorable intensity as McCoy Tyner in those contemporary Coltrane dates, and then drop to a whisper and the most delicate of embroidery without breaking a sweat or the sunniness of his mood.

Or exhibit B: consider how McCann takes raw material as tragically schmaltzy as the pop hit from those days, "Goin' Out of My Head," and invests it with a gentle, wry swing and, toward the climax, something approaching gospel grandeur. A grandeur that remains, invested with portent, for the Latin-tinged opener to "Sunny," on which McCann and the rhythm men grow as ruminative and majestically melancholic as Erik Satie in a swingier mode.

On a more straightforwardly sunny side is the jaunty "Blues 5," the straight-out "I Am in Love," an energetic romp, and a delightfully high-gloss "Love for Sale." On the latter track and "Doin' That Thing" there's a bit of vocalese, apparently from McCann himself, but it's hardly Jarretian enough to get in anyone's way.

The title comes from the brief and joky last track, "The Shampoo," on which the group asks the title question. But nowhere does Mr. McCann, or Mr. Dorn, or anyone tell us what he's doing standing with then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey on the cover. No matter. Humphrey probably knew great swinging grooves when he heard them. This is another in a string of live dates (Bird and Diz with Mingus; Coltrane and Dolphy at the Village Vanguard; Monk with anybody, anywhere) that makes me sure I was born too late. Don't miss it.

Track Listing

Love For Sale; I Can Dig It; Doin' that Thing; I Am In Love; Goin' Out Of my head; Sunny; Blues; The Shampoo.

Personnel

Leroy Vinnegar
bass, acoustic

Album information

Title: How's Your Mother? (Live In New York 1967) | Year Released: 1998 | Record Label: Jazz Heritage

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.