Without Question features Steve Wilson, Henry Hey, Matt Pavolka and Mark Ferber. McCann explains his inspiration behind the tunes.

I am often compared to various guitarists, which is fine by me but at this point in my career I have found my identifiable sound and writing style. I called this CD “Without Question,” to mark this point in my long-evolving career as a jazz musician. “I Can Remember” is a tribute to the late John Abercrombie. He is one of my all-time favorite guitarists. John played incredible melodic solos and wrote truly memorable compositions. I was lucky to have played on a recording session with John. He had just flown in on a red-eye, came straight to the studio, took out his guitar and played the most beautiful solo in just one take!

“Trifecta” was a tune that came about from a rhythmic idea I was playing around with. The goal was to see how many times I could use the dotted 8th note in the space of 4 bars. The harmony is split over three key centers: C, Ab and E. These key centers are a major third away from each other. “Lost City.” New York City was especially hard-hit in the first weeks and months after the Covid lockdown. I remember driving through the city one night. Hardly anyone was out, and the traffic was extremely light. It felt like a lost city. “Lovely Thing” is a tribute to the late saxophonist, Lee Konitz. I had the pleasure of playing a dozen gigs with Lee and he always kept me on my toes! I learned a lot from him and have huge respect for his legacy in jazz. One of his most beloved compositions is a contrafact on What Is This Thing Called Love called Subconscious-Lee. I decided to write a contrafact on the same tune just for him. 



“Blues for O.M.” is written for the French composer Olivier Messiaen, who was famous for the Modes of limited transposition. I decided to compose a tune using mode 4 and it worked well within the form of the blues. “Conspiracy Theory.” After a certain ex-president lost the election there were many conspiracy theories presented as facts to sway a certain percentage of voters in the U.S. It just goes to show that alternative facts and myths can turn a whole county upside down. This is my musical reflection on that dark time. “January” was written in the first month of 2022. It’s the time to get back in the swing of things, but also a time to reflect on the previous year. It’s a month of promise as the days get longer and brighter.


“Hindsight” was one of the first tunes I wrote when we were in lock-down after the pandemic hit NYC. It is a reflection of that uncertain time. “Erase the Hate” is something I wish we could all do. We all need to be kinder to everyone and remember we are all in this together.