What's Going On
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Album Summary
"What's Going On" was laid down and released in 1972 on the Pacific Jazz label, and it stands as one of Les McCann's most soulfully intentional statements on wax. This was a man who had already shown the world what he could do with a live audience and a grand piano — but here, he turned inward and outward at the same time, channeling the turbulence of early 1970s America into a deeply felt musical meditation. The album captured McCann's signature blend of gospel-rooted piano, rolling funk grooves, and free-spirited jazz improvisation, all in service of something bigger than the notes themselves — a reckoning with the times.
Reception
- The album was warmly embraced by jazz and soul audiences who recognized McCann as an artist willing to put his convictions right there on the record, no apologies.
- It found moderate commercial footing in the jazz and R&B markets, drawing in listeners from the traditional jazz world as well as the growing community hungry for the fusion sound taking shape in the early seventies.
- Critics acknowledged McCann's rare gift for making sophisticated music feel deeply human and accessible, further cementing his reputation as one of the most vital piano voices of his generation.
Significance
- This album is a proud flag-bearer for the soul-jazz and jazz-funk movement of the early seventies, with McCann's church-soaked piano sitting right at the crossroads of R&B, funk, and pure jazz expression — a place he always called home.
- It stands as a powerful reminder of a pivotal moment when jazz artists refused to look away from the social and political fires burning all around them, using their music as both witness and response.
- The album's deeply grooved, soulful architecture helped pave the road for the generations of jazz-funk and acid-jazz artists who would later mine that same rich territory where jazz meets the streets.
Tracklist
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A What's Going On (Part I) —
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B What's Going On (Part II) —
Artist Details
Les McCann is an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer born on September 23, 1935, in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, who rose to prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s as a key figure in soul jazz. His music blended hard bop, gospel, blues, and funk into an accessible yet deeply expressive style that bridged the gap between traditional jazz and popular black music of the era. McCann gained widespread recognition with his landmark 1969 live album Swiss Movement, recorded with saxophonist Eddie Harris at the Montreux Jazz Festival, which featured the politically charged track Compared to What and became one of the best-selling jazz albums of its time. His willingness to speak directly to social and political realities through his music made him a culturally significant artist during a period of civil rights struggle and social upheaval in America. McCann also played an early role in the development of hip-hop culture, as his 1969 recording of Sometimes I Cry was sampled extensively, cementing his influence across multiple generations of musicians.
