Les McCann, jazz pioneer sampled by Diddy, Nas, dies at 88

Les McCann, the trailblazing US pianist and singer who helped found the soul-jazz genre, has passed on at the age of 88.

Alan Abrahams, McCann’s manager, announced his demise on Monday.

Abrahams told NBC News that McCann died on Friday at a hospital in Los Angeles where he had been admitted with pneumonia.

McCann was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1935 and grew up in a family of musicians.

His career dates back to the 1950s, when he won a singing contest while serving in the US navy. During his stint in the navy, he also performed on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show,’ the top variety program of its time.

After he was discharged, McCann formed a trio — with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey — in Los Angeles. He signed with the Pacific Jazz label and first rose to fame with his 1960 albums ‘Les McCann Plays the Truth’ and ‘The Shout.’

The musician later signed to Atlantic in 1968 and dropped a cover of Gene McDaniels’ ‘Compared to What’ in 1969, marking one of the biggest releases of his career.

The song condemned war, greed, and injustice.

McCann released more than 60 albums from 1960 to 2018. Some of his albums included ‘Swiss Movement’ (1969), ‘Talk to the People’ (1972), ‘Layers’ (1973) and ‘Another Beginning’ (1974). The most recent being a deluxe reissue of his ‘Never a Dull Moment! Coast to Coast Live 1966-67’ album last month.

McCann was a pioneer in merging jazz with soul and funk.

His music has been sampled by hip-hop artistes such as Eric B. & Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill, Nas, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg, the Notorious B.I.G., and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.