Thomas, Pat: - Pat Thomas has appeared on the BBC & NPR as the author of Listen, Whitey! -- he was a consultant to the PBS documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. He has lectured at USC, Evergreen State and the Universities of Copenhagen, Oslo & East London. He curated the book Invitation To Openness: The Jazz & Soul Photography of Les McCann 1960-1980 and compiled an Allen Ginsberg box set: The Last Word on First Blues. He lives in California.

McCann, Les: - Born in 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky, pianist/singer/songwriter Les McCann moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s (after a stint in the Navy), where he formed a popular trio. Miles Davis urged him to work with Cannonball Adderly, but McCann chose to remain independent, and began recording "soul-jazz" albums for the Pacific Jazz label in 1960. His socially conscious album Swiss Movement, recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, has sold millions of copies and reached #1 on the Billboard chart. McCann's work continued to chart throughout the '70s: he has collaborated with many noteworthy musicians, and he is frequently sampled. McCann is also a painter, and has exhibited his photography. He continues to tour.

Thomas, Pat: - Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights & Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975, Did It! Jerry Rubin: An American Revolutionary, and co-editor of Invitation to Openness: The Jazz & Soul Photography of Les McCann 1960-1980. In co-operation with the Estate of Allen Ginsberg, Thomas edited the visual tome Material Wealth: The Personal Archives of Allen Ginsberg, with a forward by poet Anne Waldman, which won a PEN award in 2024. Thomas was the co-editor of Ernie in Kovacsland: Drawings, and Photographs from Television's Original Genius and Grievous Angels, Trout Masks, and American Beauties: 1970s Rock & Roll Photography of Ginny Winn with an introduction by Maria Muldaur. He lives on America's left coast.