| Les Spann | |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth Name: | Leslie Spann Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 23 May 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Pine Bluff, Arkansas |
| Death Place: | New York City |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Instrument: | Guitar, flute |
| Years Active: | 1957–1967 |
Leslie Spann Jr. (May 23, 1932 – January 24, 1989) was an American jazz guitarist and flautist.[1] As a sideman he recorded with Nat Adderley, Benny Bailey, Bill Coleman, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Curtis Fuller, Red Garland, Benny Goodman, Sam Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Charles Mingus, Duke Pearson, Jerome Richardson, Charlie Shavers, Sonny Stitt, Billy Taylor, Randy Weston, and Ben Webster. As a leader he recorded only once, the album Gemini in 1961.[1]
Les Spann was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States.[1] From 1950 to 1957, he studied music at Tennessee State University.[1] At the end of that time he worked with Phineas Newborn Jr.[1] and in 1958 with Ronnell Bright. The following year, he joined a quintet in New York City led by Dizzy Gillespie, performing solos on flute and guitar and appearing on two of Gillespie's albums for Verve Records.[1] After a year with Gillespie, he went to Europe as a member of Quincy Jones's big band.[1] Two more albums followed, this time with Spann joining a sextet that included Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry "Sweets" Edison.[1] He recorded with Hodges again in 1967. Around 1970, he played flute in a quartet led by the guitarist Kenny Burrell.
He died in New York City in 1989.[2]
With Bill Coleman
With Duke Ellington
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Johnny Hodges
With Quincy Jones
With Sam Jones
With Sonny Stitt
With others