Layers (Les McCann album)

Layers
Studio album by Les McCann
Released	1973
Recorded	November 1972 Regent Sound Studios, New York
Genre	Jazz-funk [1]
Length	44:02
Label	Atlantic SD 1646 , 32 Groove
Producer	Joel Dorn
Les McCann chronology
Live at Montreux (1972) Layers (1973) Another Beginning (1974)

Layers is an album by pianist Les McCann recorded in 1972 and released on the Atlantic label. ^{[2] [3]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]

AllMusic gives the album 4½ stars, stating "This groundbreaking jazz synthesizer record is really unlike any other Les McCann ever made. Aside from a three-man percussion section and electric bassist Jimmy Rowser, Layers is entirely electronic, one of the first jazz albums with such an emphasis. ...this music is truly forward-looking and ahead of its time". ^[4]

The song "Sometimes I Cry" has been sampled in several other songs, most notably in Slick Rick's "Behind Bars" and its drum beat in Massive Attack's "Teardrop" and "Bullet Boy". ^[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Les McCann

1. "Sometimes I Cry" - 5:22
2. "Let's Gather" - 1:13
3. "Anticipation" - 0:52
4. "The Dunbar High School Marching Band" - 6:07
5. "Soaring (At Dawn) Part I"- 5:54
6. "The Harlem Buck Dance Strut" - 5:55
7. "Interlude" - 0:33
8. "Before I Rest" - 3:43
9. "Let's Play ('til Mom Calls)" - 4:26
10. "It Never Stopped in My Home Town" - 1:54
11. "Soaring (At Sunset) Part II" - 8:03

Personnel

• Les McCann - piano, electric piano, synthesizer, clavinet, drums, timpani
• Jimmy Rowser - bass, electric bass, bells, percussion
• Donald Dean - drums, bells, percussion
• Buck Clarke - congas, drums, bongos, blocks, bells, percussion
• Ralph MacDonald - congas, bells, percussion

References

1. Gorton, TJ (July 30, 2018). "BeatCaffeine's 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs". BeatCaffeine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
2. Atlantic Records Catalog: 1600 series accessed March 8, 2016
3. Freed., R. Les McCann Discography accessed March 8, 2016
4. Huey, Steve. Layers – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved March 8, 2016.
5. "Samples of Sometimes I Cry by les McCann on WhoSampled". WhoSampled .