Les McCann, Legendary Jazz Pianist Sampled by Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg, Dies at 88
variety.comJem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Les McCann, the legendary jazz pianist who has been sampled countless times and is perhaps best known for the protest song “Compared to What,” died Friday at a Los Angeles area hospital, his manager confirmed.
No cause of death was announced, although he had been hospitalized last week after contracting pneumonia; he was 88. The news was first reported by NBC Bay Area.
Also an accomplished singer, McCann fused jazz and R&B in his work and provided a bedrock for many songs in the early years of hip-hop, including songs by the Notorious B.I.G. (“10 Crack Commandments”), A Tribe Called Quest (“After Hours”), Snoop Dogg and Dr.
Dre (“The Next Episode”), Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, Warren G., Slick Rick and many others. McCann was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1935 and grew up in a musical family.
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