Swiss Movement
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Swiss Movement
| type = Live album
| artist = Les McCann and Eddie Harris
| cover = Swiss Movement.jpeg
| alt =
| released = 1969
| recorded = June 21, 1969
| venue = Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland
| studio =
| genre = Soul jazz
| length = 39:06
| label = Atlantic
| producer = Nesuhi Ertegün, Bob Emmer
| chronology = Eddie Harris
| prev_title = High Voltage
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = Free Speech
| next_year = 1969
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Les McCann
| type = Live album
| prev_title = Much Les
| prev_year = 1968
| title = Swiss Movement
| year = 1969
| next_title = Comment
| next_year = 1969
}}
}}
Swiss Movement is a soul jazz live album recorded on June 21, 1969 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland by the Les McCann trio, with saxophonist Eddie Harris and trumpeter Benny Bailey.[http://www.eddieharris.com/#discography Eddie Harris Discography], accessed June 22, 2017 The album was a hit record, as was the accompanying single "Compared to What", with both selling millions of units.
Reception and influence
{{album reviews
| rev1 = Allmusic
| rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/swiss-movement-mw0000054231|title=Swiss Movement - Les McCann, Eddie Harris - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=5 October 2018}}
|rev2 = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide
| rev2Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite book
|editor-last=Swenson
|editor-first=J.
| year = 1985
| title = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide
|url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstonejazz00swen
|url-access=registration
| publisher = Random House/Rolling Stone
| location = USA
| isbn = 0-394-72643-X
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/rollingstonejazz00swen/page/96 96]
}}
}}
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best jazz performance, small group."'Swiss Movement' Grammy Nominee" (March 13, 1971) Billboard. p. 4. It reached No. 1 on Billboard's jazz album chart, No. 2 on the R&B chart,Goldmark, Daniel (2012) In "Slightly Left of Center": Atlantic Records and the Problems of Genre. In Ake, David Andrew; Garrett, Charles Hiroshi; Goldmark, Daniel "Jazz/Not Jazz: The Music and Its Boundaries". University of California Press. p. 165. and No. 29 on the LP chart."Billboard Top LP's". (February 28, 1970) Billboard. p. 70.Whitburn, Joel (1991) "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums". Billboard Books. p. 119.
A Billboard writer commented in 2006 that "what put Montreux on the recorded-live-in-concert map was the legendary Swiss Movement album".Ouellette, Dan (June 3, 2006) "On the Record". Billboard. p. 36. Writing in AllMusic, Richie Unterberger calls Swiss Movement "one of the most popular soul jazz albums of all time, and one of the best."{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/swiss-movement-mw0000054231|title=Swiss Movement - Les McCann, Eddie Harris - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=5 October 2018}}
The tapes of this impromptu concert were originally recorded by the festival's organisers and then passed on to Atlantic, who decided to release them after paying a fee of less than $100.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eddieharris.com/#about|title=EH | the Official Website of Eddie Harris}}
McCann and Harris teamed up again for a follow-up recording, Second Movement, released in 1971.{{cite web|website=AllMusic|title=Second Movement|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/second-movement-mw0000102248|first=Paula|last=Edelstein|accessdate=January 16, 2023}}
Track listing
- "Compared to What" – (Gene McDaniels): 8:41
- "Cold Duck Time" – (Eddie Harris): 6:31
- "Kathleen's Theme" – (Les McCann): 5:45
- "You Got It in Your Soulness" – (Les McCann): 7:08
- "The Generation Gap" – (Les McCann): 8:45
- "Kaftan" – (Leroy Vinnegar) – bonus track on the 1996 reissue
Personnel
- Eddie Harris – tenor saxophone
- Les McCann – piano, vocals on "Compared to What"
- Benny Bailey – trumpet
- Leroy Vinnegar – bass
- Donald Dean – drums
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite web
|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/w68c
|title=BBC - Music - Review of Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Swiss Movement
|publisher=www.bbc.co.uk
|access-date=2009-10-22
}}
}}
External links
- {{youtube|G_BjWP9Y-ps|Cold Duck Time (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival)}}
{{Les McCann}}{{Eddie Harris}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Albums produced by Nesuhi Ertegun
Category:Rhino Entertainment live albums
Category:Les McCann live albums
Category:Eddie Harris live albums
Category:Albums recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival