Hello my friends, tomorrow I'll be back in the studio after Christmas days. I wish you a very Happy New Year. I will have the chance to present you some songs as a tribute to Les McCann who passed away a few days ago. He was 88 years old. He released more than 50 albums but had his greatest commercial success with “ Compared to What ,” a recording that came together at the last minute in 1969. His greatest commercial success, came purely by chance, in June 1969 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Mr. McCann was appearing at the festival for the first time. After he and the tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris, also an Atlantic artist, played separate sets, they gave an unscheduled performance together, with Mr. Harris as well as the expatriate trumpeter Benny Bailey joining Mr. McCann’s trio. Neither had played with Mr. McCann before, and there was no time for rehearsal. But the performance was to be recorded and filmed for broadcast. A few days ago, it was sol...