Les Mccann Eddie Harris Swiss Movement

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's what sparked the spontaneous funk coming 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.

Eddie Harris and Les McCann's Second Movement is the second and last duet recording by Harris and McCann, and the follow-up to their 1969 "live" recording Swiss Movement. It is among the series from Label M which launched its reissue series from the Atlantic Records' archives in November 2000. The tenor saxophonist and the vocalist and pianist display their brand of showmanship and musicality that rivaled such great pairings as Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine, or Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons. This CD is a soul/jazz funk workout and features great technology that emphasizes one of their best songs, "Shorty Rides Again.

Les McCann reached the peak of his career at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival, recording "Compared to What" and "Cold Duck Time" for Atlantic (Swiss Movement) with Eddie Harris and Benny Bailey. Although he has done some worthwhile work since then, much of it has been anticlimactic.