Swiss Movement – LES MCCAN & EDDIE HARRIS***

Compared To What/Cold Duck Time/Kathleen’s Theme/You Got It In Your Soulness/The Generation Gap

Swiss Movement is the recording of Les McCann and Eddie Harris after they decided that their respective bands should combine to play together for a session at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1969. (US:29)

“Jazz at its live best, as it often happens in Montreux. Yes, there are imperfections, but no improvised jam I've ever heard has the same bundled power as this, with two edgy, belting horns and some nifty piano work by the band leader.”

“Get it for the tour de force performance of McCann's Compared To What, but stick with it for some of the best funky jazz ever. If you aren't groovin' by The Generation Gap, then someone has to check your pulse to determine if you're still with us.”

“The soul jazz anti-establishment anthem Compared To What is a true classic of a song, performed with inspiration that only a live setting could provide. The last three songs are all good, but don't quite return to the level of the first one. Eddie Harris plays well throughout. Still, this is one funky record overall.”

“Les McCann's Trio and the Eddie Harris Quartet were both on the bill for the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival and the two of them decided right then and there to play together later in the week. American trumpeter Benny Bailey, now under European residence, was also at Montreux, and Eddie and Les asked him to be a part of the group. The result was this album, a live impromptu performance that gets a little rough and ragged at times, but is usually the first thing to come to mind when I think of soul-jazz. As loose as it is, I admire Les and Eddie for coming up with an original program of material, rather than playing it safe and coasting through well-known standards. It's hard not to appreciate a group which had no prior knowledge of any of the material, and to have it coming out sounding as lively as it does here.”

“In the field of soul-jazz, it really doesn't get much better than this album. Naturally, it's jazz, but with just the right amount of soul and funk mixed in. It's a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The opener Compared To What is brilliant, maybe the best souljazz I've ever heard. The vocals are urgent, incendiary and unforgettable. The rest of the album is predominantly instrumental, but the same vaguely funky, swinging souljazz groove is in evidence throughout.”