I met Les on a few occassions. My father was friends with him and the singer in his trio. I even visited his house, and saw his original recording studio, the "octopus" multitrack recording machine and a new studio that he was planning. And more recently I had spent time hanging with Les's son.
So this is sad news on a personal front. It's something that I always knew would happen eventually, but it's sad nonetheless. Les loved to perform. The last time I saw him play live, he was still having a ball. He loved to play, and damn could he still play! Plus, he loved to talk with the audience between songs and was a genuinely funny guy.
Thank you for changing the way we hear music, Les!