Joel Dorn's short-lived Night Music label featured private tapes of some of his favorite jazz artists. Pianist/vocalist
Les McCann had collected 500 mostly undated private tapes through the years (the dates listed above are estimates) and this CD is drawn from that archive.
McCann and his 1967 trio perform the groove tune "Maleah" and "With These Hands" (the latter has
McCann's vocal) while "Samia" reunites the pianist with
Eddie Harris. There are also a few numbers without
McCann. One features singer
Roberta Flack (a few months before cutting her first record for Atlantic) and there is an odd collage of L.A. appearances by such artists as
Cannonball Adderley,
Stanley Turrentine and
Carmen McRae but unfortunately those are just excerpts. "Clapformation" features an excellent R&B alto solo by
Gerald Albright from very early in his career and there is also a later version of
McCann's hit "Compared to What." Very much a mixed bag, this CD (which is far from essential) is a historical curiosity at best.